Madras High Court expects TN govt to translate Unani books to Tamil

CHENNAI: Madras high court has expressed its expectation that the state government will take urgent steps to have accurate translation of Urdu Unani textbooks into Tamil to help candidates from reserved communities to avail of its benefits. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice R. Mahadevan disposed of a PIL from advocate M. Palanimuthu, which sought to restrain the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission from proceeding further with the direct recruitment of 24 assistant medical officers (Unani).

According to petitioner, though the Government Unani Medical College was functioning in Chennai since 1979, not even a single candidate has been produced in the Tamil medium in the system of Unani medicine as doctor till date. When necessary funds were allotted by the government, no study materials have been translated into Tamil from English, Urdu or any other languages.

There were seven readers, 10 professors, six lecturers and 10 assistant lecturers and other administrative staff in the college. However, no one belongs to BC or SC or ST. When not even a single candidate has become as Unani doctor in Tamil medium, the reservation system for BC and SC was futile. The notified reserved posts were an eye wash, he added. The bench said the controversy was that in the process of spreading Unani system of medicine government funding was provided, but candidates were not available from the reserved category.

The state government was taking steps to translate the Unani text books from Urdu to Tamil by constituting a panel of translators. There was lack of availability of requisite translators from Urdu to Tamil and in some cases, the authors were not agreeable to grant copyright permission for such translation. It was these aspects, which were stated to be hampering the translation work, the bench added.

The bench said that due care has to be taken about the accuracy of translation as it is the subject of medicine. The repercussion can be on patients. Good quality translators with knowledge of Urdu and Tamil are necessary, the bench said.