Maharashtra government moots to replace ‘hello’ from phone conversations; suggests using ‘Vande Mataram’ instead

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government has proposed to replace ‘hello’ from the phone conversations of government officials. Instead, they are expected to say ‘Vande Mataram’ in an effort to weed out the western influence in phone conversations. The suggestion has been passed on to the heads of every government department. The new campaign to change this western practice begins on Gandhi Jayanthi.

In the notification, released by the government yesterday, the employees of semi-government offices are also expected to imbibe the new suggestion. The heads of the departments are expected to encourage the employees to use ‘Vande Mataram’, as per the government resolution.

The campaign has been inaugurated by Cultural Affairs Minister, Sudhir Mungantiwar, in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis.

Sudhir Mungantiwar said that the campaign aims to change the culture of using ‘hello’ to ‘Vande Mataram’ across the state. He said that ‘Vande Mataram’ means to bow before the mother.

However, the government has made it clear that it would not make the use of ‘Vande Mataram' mandatory.