zubinpepsi Posted May 26, 2009 Posted May 26, 2009 Caught speaking Malayalam, Apollo nurses asked to resign New Delhi: Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals on Monday asked two nurses to submit their resignations for speaking in their “native tongue†inside the hospital premises. The nurses, Jincy Joseph and Lijy Menon (names changed to protect identity) were posted in ICU of the Cardio Thoracic Vascular Surgery (CTVS) department. The two said they will take their case to the National Human Rights Commission on Tuesday, challenging the hospital’s decision. Menon said they arrived for the afternoon shift at 1.45 pm. “We greeted each other in the lift lobby in Malayalam and did not realise that the nursing superintendent was standing behind us,†Joseph said.†Menon added, “We spent the entire day apologising but we were not allowed to enter the ward after that.†The hospital’s nursing superintendent, Usha Banerjee, said employees were encouraged to speak only in English within the premises. “We cater to an international clientele,†Banerjee said. “In any case, speaking in native languages might jeopardise patient safety; we avoid talking in any language other than English while inside the hospital premises.†Asked whether the employees were dismissed, she said the nurses had not been dismissed yet. But both Menon and Joseph were told to tender their resignations to the evening superintendent. “We have put in our papers,†Joseph said. “More than the insult, we are outraged at the fact that we do not have the right to speak in our language. Since we were not in front of patients, or even inside the ward, this was not violation of rules per se.†Menon said they agree with the hospital rule prohibiting speaking in languages other than English in presence of the patients. “Any other language might make a patient uncomfortable,†she said, “but we were in the lift lobby and had not even started our shift yet.†“Ninety per cent of nurses in the hospital are Malayalis. The hospital has no right to tell them which language to speak in. Nurses are mentally harassed and we will take this up with higher authorities,†said Usha Krishna Kumar, president of the Malayali Nurses Welfare Association and wife of former Union Minister S Krishna Kumar. ----------------------------------------------- wat jokers .... i hope some humanrights group shames this hospital...
The Outsider Posted May 26, 2009 Posted May 26, 2009 :wall: The level of idiocy of some people never ceases to amaze me.
Lurker Posted May 26, 2009 Posted May 26, 2009 Not surprised at all. Most of these ultra nouveau that has sprung all over India these days suffer from these sort of hangups. My brother who works at Max Hospitals tells me how they have been told in no uncertain terms to speak in English ('suppose that should bring a big Hoooahh from all English supporters in India!).
DomainK Posted May 26, 2009 Posted May 26, 2009 This is outrageous. I can understand why such a rule is in place. But to sack them for greeting each other is plain outrageous. Off topic: I am surprised at how many Malyali nurses are found across all hospitals in India. Seems Mallu women are the most caring.
Lurker Posted May 26, 2009 Posted May 26, 2009 Off topic: I am surprised at how many Malyali nurses are found across all hospitals in India. Seems Mallu women are the most caring. And abroad. This reminds me of an experience in Lake Forest, CA. There I would see a lot of Indians doint "un-Indian" work, you know they would be doing stuff like being a mechanic, selling electronics at Best Buy, serving at Applebees etc etc. Initially I thought it was because of bad economy. Later on I came to know they were all married to Kerelite nurses. These nurses are not only in high demand but also get fast tracked in the legal immigration process. the hubbies come to US as dependents and then pick on the jobs I mentioned earlier.
flamy Posted May 26, 2009 Posted May 26, 2009 This is outrageous. I can understand why such a rule is in place. But to sack them for greeting each other is plain outrageous. Off topic: I am surprised at how many Malyali nurses are found across all hospitals in India. Seems Mallu women are the most caring. I used to use that so much back home. Worked like a charm when I came across a Mallu girl :--D These dumbasses should look at other "international" hospitals and see if they fire their employees for speaking Spanish, Cantonese or French
Ram Posted May 26, 2009 Posted May 26, 2009 If the nurses manage to get a good lawyer, this dismissal wont stand a chance in the courts.
Macj Posted May 26, 2009 Posted May 26, 2009 Mallu nurses are hot, they can speak any language they want to when Im.....
coffee_rules Posted May 26, 2009 Posted May 26, 2009 Some English medium schools in Bangalore punish students if they are caught speaking any other langauge. The punishment is a small fine (5 rs or so) for every offense. Quite a good way of making money.. Atleast there the motive is to make the students learn to converse in English. But this case is so stupid.
Macj Posted May 26, 2009 Posted May 26, 2009 Some English medium schools in Bangalore punish students if they are caught speaking any other langauge. The punishment is a small fine (5 rs or so) for every offense. Quite a good way of making money.. Atleast there the motive is to make the students learn to converse in English. But this case is so stupid. Punishing kids speaking native tongues in school is a good thing. I remember in school children would form their own groups that spoke the same language, it doesnt foster unity. My friends and I were beaten black and blue for speaking our native tongue which is a very rare language to begin with but in the end I think it was the right thing.
fineleg Posted May 26, 2009 Posted May 26, 2009 Punishing kids speaking native tongues in school is a good thing. I remember in school children would form their own groups that spoke the same language, it doesnt foster unity. My friends and I were beaten black and blue for speaking our native tongue which is a very rare language to begin with but in the end I think it was the right thing. Beating kids is just plain wrong esp for such minor offense. Yes, I too had to speak in English in school - when teachers or administrative folks found anyone talking in native language, they will warn. If someone repeats the same thing after warnings, they can make remarks in the school diary or talk to parents. That was enough. I think it is wrong to beat up kids "black and blue"
Macj Posted May 26, 2009 Posted May 26, 2009 Beating kids is just plain wrong esp for such minor offense. Yes, I too had to speak in English in school - when teachers or administrative folks found anyone talking in native language, they will warn. If someone repeats the same thing after warnings, they can make remarks in the school diary or talk to parents. That was enough. I think it is wrong to beat up kids "black and blue" ok
Desi Cartman Posted May 27, 2009 Posted May 27, 2009 WTF .. these nurses were not in an operation theater .. they werent even in the ward. Firstly, this rule sucks. There is a difference in encouraging english and firing employees for saying how r u in malayalam ... Most nurses I have seen in North India are from the south. I am sad to know that in India they get discriminated like this ... had this happened in Aus , US or any other developed country all Indians would have been shouting "racism" . Even those morons who are burning trains and buses in Punjab would have left angry comments on TOI but since its happening in India , I dont think many people are gonna help these victims
Ram Posted May 27, 2009 Posted May 27, 2009 Punishing kids speaking native tongues in school is a good thing. I remember in school children would form their own groups that spoke the same language, it doesnt foster unity. My friends and I were beaten black and blue for speaking our native tongue which is a very rare language to begin with but in the end I think it was the right thing. I am staggered if you think beating young kids for not speaking in a foreign language is justified. Where is this world going? How long and how far are we going to in this race to copy the West in EVERYTHING we do!
cybervickey Posted May 27, 2009 Posted May 27, 2009 i am suprised at how many people here are ok with "english only " rule at schools and hospitals with some restrictions .... i mean come on , why cant one speak their own damn language , this is not the way to learn a foreign language !
DomainK Posted May 27, 2009 Posted May 27, 2009 i am suprised at how many people here are ok with "english only " rule at schools and hospitals with some restrictions .... i mean come on , why cant one speak their own damn language , this is not the way to learn a foreign language ! I think it is an effective way. When you have to communicate everything in a certain foreign language, you are likely to learn it faster. Of course you will have difficulties in communicating, but you will learn out of necessity. However beating students up for that or firing employees for that is bad.
Don Sharma Posted May 27, 2009 Posted May 27, 2009 Some English medium schools in Bangalore punish students if they are caught speaking any other langauge. The punishment is a small fine (5 rs or so) for every offense. Quite a good way of making money.. Atleast there the motive is to make the students learn to converse in English. But this case is so stupid. It was a rule in my school as well:((. Worse than that they used to have a bulletin board in each class for tracking the number of times a student was caught speaking in other languages. They had set a target of three or five, I dont remember, but anyone who surpasses the target had to pay Rs.100. If you dont have a close knit of friends you will end up donating a few 100s.:--D
DomainK Posted May 27, 2009 Posted May 27, 2009 It was a rule in my school as well:((. Worse than that they used to have a bulletin board in each class for tracking the number of times a student was caught speaking in other languages. They had set a target of three or five, I dont remember, but anyone who surpasses the target had to pay Rs.100. If you dont have a close knit of friends you will end up donating a few 100s.:--D That means the rich were allowed to talk in whatever language they liked. But not the poor.
Don Sharma Posted May 27, 2009 Posted May 27, 2009 That means the rich are allowed to talk in whatever language they liked. But not the poor. Does it matter if you are rich or poor? Does anyone like to give away money for just talking in a native language? Obviously everyone will be compelled to speak in English, and that's the crux of the rule.
Macj Posted May 27, 2009 Posted May 27, 2009 I am staggered if you think beating young kids for not speaking in a foreign language is justified. Where is this world going? How long and how far are we going to in this race to copy the West in EVERYTHING we do! Its not nice but rough justice is infinitely better than the save the belt ruin the child policies in the US. The foreign language is what is forging the post modern Indian identity like it or not, we can nurture our own language all we want but dont expect us to be where are as a nation now if it werent for English. Our laws after all were written based on English Common Law.
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