India • Jun 22, 2025

Controversial posters at Ooty railway station removed

Ooty Railway Station in Tamil Nadu has removed posters that promoted Hindi and misattributed a famous Tamil poet's quote.
One poster suggested non-Hindi speakers could achieve their dreams through Hindi, which sparked criticism online for pushing the language in a mostly Tamil-speaking area.

TL;DR

Posters had been up for years

Railway officials said the posters had been up for years but were taken down quickly to avoid more controversy.
Local MP A Raja called out the move, saying increased use of Hindi at stations was hurting Tamil sentiments.
He's asked railway authorities to respect local languages and not force Hindi where it isn't wanted.
An investigation is underway to find out who put up the posters in the first place.