Now Reading: Tamil Nadu Health Minister apologises for remark on disabled
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Tamil Nadu Health Minister apologises for remark on disabled
Tamil Nadu Health Minister K.G. Arunraj has apologised after disability rights activists protested his use of an outdated Tamil expression to describe people with disabilities. The remark came during an in-person counselling…
The Story in Brief
Tamil Nadu Health Minister K.G. Arunraj has apologised after disability rights activists protested his use of an outdated Tamil expression to describe people with disabilities. The remark came during an in-person counselling session for MBBS and BDS admissions for students from special categories at a government hospital in Chennai.
After the statement went viral on social media, Dr Arunraj posted on X that he deeply regretted inadvertently using an expression that should be avoided as per convention. The Hindu reports that activists had claimed the term had fallen out of use and was considered offensive.
The Indian Opinion
Apologies matter, but this episode is less about one minister's slip and more about how casually outdated language still enters official speech. Disability rights are not a niche concern; such terms reinforce stigma even when used thoughtlessly. The real test will be whether the government issues clear dos and don'ts for all public officials and trains them consistently. Will the next event have a sensitivity checklist before anyone steps to the mic? That number is what counts.
Source: thehindu.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
