Chennai: Tamil Nadu Police officials have denied allegations that personnel were compelled to include Hindi lettering on their uniforms.
The issue surfaced during this year’s Police Commemoration Day observance in Tamil Nadu, when claims were made that officers were forced to wear a badge carrying Hindi script. DMK leader M.K. Stalin had criticised the move.
Police officials said Police Commemoration Day is observed nationwide every year on October 21 in memory of CRPF personnel who died in a 1959 attack by Chinese troops in the Jammu & Kashmir–Ladakh region.
They explained that the badge worn on the day is based on the design of the National Police Memorial in Delhi—a 30-foot monolith featuring a rifle with a cap. The same commemorative flag-badge is worn by police across India only on that day.
Officials added that Tamil Nadu police have used the same badge in previous years as well, including during earlier DMK and AIADMK governments, and insisted there is “no truth” to claims of Hindi being imposed through the uniform.
