Language Row Costs Pharmacist: Action Ordered for Giving Wrong Medicine, Refusing Bengali
Siliguri: A controversy erupted at Siliguri District Hospital after an intern pharmacist allegedly handed over the wrong medicine to a child's family and refused to speak in Bengali, claiming that Hindi was the "official language."
The incident, which occurred on Thursday, has triggered strong reactions from locals and Bengali language advocacy groups.
According to a media report, a family from Dalkhola had brought their child for treatment at the hospital. After consulting the doctor, they approached the pharmacy to collect the prescribed medicines. The family alleged that the pharmacist spoke only in Hindi, and when they requested her to speak in Bengali, she reportedly said, “If you understand Hindi, then understand it. Otherwise, go learn Hindi. Hindi is the official language. I will not speak Bengali.”
Later, the family cross-checked the medicines at a nearby private pharmacy and discovered that one of the drugs dispensed was incorrect. Alarmed, they returned to the hospital, where another pharmacist replaced the medicine. However, the same woman allegedly continued to refuse to communicate in Bengali despite repeated requests.
One of the family members, Ranjit Saha, stated, “She gave us the wrong medicine. If we hadn’t checked outside, we might have given the wrong medicine to our child. After such a serious mistake, she misbehaved with us over language.”
Members of the Bengali advocacy group Bangla Pokkho soon reached the hospital demanding strict action against the pharmacist. Group representative Rajat Bhattacharya questioned why patients in Bengal should be forced to speak Hindi in government hospitals and raised concerns over Bengali youths being overlooked for such posts while non-Bengali speakers are employed.
The Millennium Post reports that the hospital superintendent Dr Chandan Ghosh clarified that the pharmacist was an intern currently undergoing training. He said the error was immediately corrected, a formal complaint has been received, and an internal inquiry has been launched. Appropriate action will be taken based on the findings, he assured.
