Mother tongue costs Kerala woman her bank job

A Kerala-based woman engineer was denied job in the Himachal Pradesh Gramin Bank because her mother tongue is Malayalam, not Hindi.

A Kerala-based woman engineer was denied job in the Himachal Pradesh Gramin Bank because her mother tongue is Malayalam, not Hindi.

A Kerala-based woman engineer was denied job in the Himachal Pradesh Gramin Bank because her mother tongue is Malayalam, not Hindi.

Twenty-four year old Binithamol P Vijayan approached the Supreme Court with her plea that denial of job on the ground of mother tongue violates her right to work.

Justice J Chelameswar’s bench Monday agreed to examine the case and has sought the bank’s response. The Reserve Bank of India, the Centre and the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection were told to submit their stand.

The woman’s lawyer, Jignesh, told the court she was not allowed to join the bank in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, despite qualifying the exam and receiving an appointment letter. He said Vijayan wants the court to direct the authorities to pay her Rs 5 lakh for the mental agony she underwent.

“She received a formal letter in January this year, asking her to join the bank as an office assistant. But when she went there on February 8, the bank authorities told her she cannot work there because Hindi is not her mother tongue,” the lawyer said.