Parliament Question: Hindi Name Boards at Tiruchirappalli Divisional Railway Office, Tamil Nadu

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5361 TO BE ANSWERED ON 25.03.2026 HINDI NAME BOARDS AT TIRUCHIRAPPALLI DIVISIONAL RAILWAY OFFICE, TAMIL NADU 5361. SHRI VE VAITHILINGAM: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has taken note of reports regarding the installation of Hindi name boards at the Tiruchirappalli Divisional Railway Office in Tamil Nadu and the subsequent protests that led to their removal; (b) if so, the details of the circumstances under which such name boards were installed and the reasons cited by the Railway authorities for their removal; and (c) the measures proposed to be taken by the Government to ensure that language usage in railway establishments in non-Hindi speaking States and Union Territories including Puducherry reflects local linguistic sensitivities and complies with existing official language policies? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (c): Indian Railways follows the policy laid down by the Department of Official Language, Ministry of Home Affairs, which is the nodal ministry. As per their policy in Regions 'B' & 'C' (i.e. non-Hindi speaking states) Sign Boards, Name Boards etc. should be displayed in Regional Language, Hindi and English. Page 1 of 2 §The arch at the entry gate of Tiruchirappalli Divisional Railway Office was widened and reconstructed for easy movement and convenience of public and staff, displaying information in Tamil, Hindi and English, in line with the Official Language Implementation Policy. ***** Page 2 of 2