Home Minister to launch Hindi Version of first-year MBBS books

New Delhi: Union Minister Amit Shah will launch the Hindi versions of first-year MBBS textbooks in Bhopal on October 16, 2022. With this, Madhya Pradesh will inch closer to becoming the first state to provide medical education in Hindi.

The scheduled launch comes at the time when the Chief Ministers of two southern states have voiced their reservations against the move of the Parliamentary Committee on Official Language, headed by Mr. Shah, to employ Hindi as a medium of instruction in key institutions in the Hindi-speaking states, and regional languages elsewhere.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, however, said the initiative would change mindsets and prove that one could progress in life even after being educated in the Hindi medium. He said the move would make students feel proud of their mother tongue.

The translated versions say Medical Education Minister Vishvas Sarang, of books on medical biochemistry, medical physiology, and anatomy, has been prepared by a panel of 97 doctors over the past eight to nine months. He said not everyone warmed to the idea initially. “There was resistance from the experts. Some said it was not possible, while others said students might lose the competitive advantage but we persisted taking into account all the reservations,” Mr. Sarang said.

There are however some fears about a Hindi-centric approach robbing students of crucial opportunities, and about the practical difficulties involved.

One UG medical student from Bhopal said medical education involved going through a lot of reference books that are in English, and a mix of languages can result in confusion.