Mohandas Pai slams ‘excessive use of Hindi’ in central government communication

Ex-Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai, reacting to an X share by MP John Brittas, slammed the central government for “excessive use of Hindi” as a language of communication. He called the situation “worrisome” and “wrong.”
Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP John Brittas shared how he responded to Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ravneet Bittu in Malayalam after receiving a communication from him in Hindi.
“It has been a norm and precedent that letters addressed from Union Govt to south MPs are written in English. Lately however that’s not the case, and @RavneetBittu makes it a point to write exclusively in Hindi. Am compelled to reply him in Malayalam!” Brittas wrote, tagging Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in his post.
Reposting the MP’s X post, the industry leader wrote, “Agree this excessive use Of Hindi in central govt communication is wrong and worrisome.” In his post, he tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah.
“Citizens are entitled to a reply in their native language or in English, not always Hindi. I know Hindi but oppose govt giving me a reply only in Hindi. Pl do not impose any one language on citizens,” he added.
Boregowda Shivaraj, a senior fellow at Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), wrote, “English shall be the official language of the union government is clearly written in the constitution.” Forensic auditor Vivek Shah asked, “In which language did he write the letter, was it in English?”
An individual suggested, “Always reply back in your language if you get government memos in Hindi. Same goes for state govt memos.” A fourth commented, “No, it is not wrong.”
A Padma Shri Awardee, he co-founded Akshaya Patra, “the world’s largest school meal program for students.” The former CFO and Board Member at Infosys is now the chairman at Aarin Capital.
As per his LinkedIn, he has “served on the Boards of SEBI, the National Stock Exchange, the Manipal Group, and many other institutions. He has served on several regulatory and consultative committees, including the Primary Markets Committee of SEBI, several IITs, and the CAFRAL of the RBI. He is currently on the board of Havells.”