India: Haryana cops to drop Persian, Urdu words from FIRs

The Times of India

Haryana cops to drop Persian, Urdu words from FIRs
Anita Singh, TNN | Jun 27, 2013, 03.21 AM IST

Persian, Urdu words and phrases have been in use in Haryana since the pre-Independence period when it was a part of the undivided Punjab.

KARNAL: In an effort to simplify Daily Diary Reports and First Information Reports for the common man, Haryana police has decided to do away with archaic and difficult words and phrases from the Persian and Urdu languages.

These words and phrases have been in use in Haryana since the pre-Independence period when it was a part of the undivided Punjab.

Words like 'muddayi (complainant), muddala (accused), 'tameel' (execution), aala-e-qatal (murder weapon), taftish (investigation), daryaft (plea), hasab jabta (as per law), 'missal' (file), 'tarmeem' (amendment) and ishtgassa (petition), to name a few, baffle the complainants when they are handed their copy of the FIR.

Additional director general of police Layak Ram Dabas, who is the head of the state crime records bureau, said the department has initiated the move to incorporate simple Hindi words in the complaints. He said, "The practice of using Persian and Urdu words in the police complaints was common, despite instructions from the then DGP in 2005 to discontinue the usage of such perplexing terms. The state police chief had recommended the use of Hindi for writing complaints, filing investigation and research reports."

Even the courts in various districts of Haryana have repeatedly asked the police to use Hindi words and phrases, but the 'munshis' (readers) who write the reports have not changed their style of work. The young readers tend to follow their senior colleagues in filing the reports, say senior Haryana police officials.

Dabas said the department held a special camp for more than 300 munshis who were trained were trained in writing reports. The officer said around 350 such words being used while registering the police complaints have been replaced now. He said all munshis working in the police stations would now be required to undergo the training programme aimed at sensitizing them about use of Hindi words in their paperwork.

"After the successful completion of training of munshis, the senior officials at each police station would be asked to ensure that the usage of Persian and Urdu words was stopped, failing which action would be taken against them," Dabas said.

Rajinder Singh, a sub-munshi at a Karnal police station, said the practice of using Persian and Urdu words passed on from seniors to new employees and it still continues.

"Now that the department has finally decided to get rid of these words, it would not only enable the commoners to understand the contents of their complaints but also facilitate the working of police," he said.