'Thayir' vs 'dahi' row: After Tamil Nadu opposes Hindi label for curd, FSSAI revises order

Stalin had slammed the attempt to "impose Hindi" on southern states

ITDC INDIA EPRESS/ ITDC NEWS : Shortly after the Tamil Nadu government opposed the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India’s (FSSAI) directive for labelling curd as 'dahi', new guidelines were issued on Thursday. In the new directive, FSSAI stated that the term curd can be used along with other titles like 'thayir' and 'mosaru' among others.

The state-run Aavin in Tamil Nadu had said it will not use the Hindi term 'dahi' in its printed sachets, and that it would only stick to the Tamil word 'thayir' to denote the product.

While Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said the move was as an attempt to "impose Hindi", the state BJP unit also opposed the move to use the Hindi title. BJP state unit chief K Annamalai said the notification was not in tandem with Centre's policy of promoting regional languages.

In its notification on Thursday, FSSAI stated: “As many representations were received recently on omission of the term “curd, from the Standards of Fermented Milk Products, it has been decided that FBOs may use the term Curd along with any other designation [prevalent regional common name] in brackets on the label. Accordingly, curd can also be labelled as: Curd (Dahi), Curd (Mosaru), Curd (Zaamut daud), Curd (Thayir) or Curd (Perugu).

On his Twitter handle, Stalin earlier posted a news report on FSSAI directing Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) to label curd as "dahi" prominently. Responding to the reports, he lashed out at the “unabashed insistence of Hindi imposition”. “Such brazen disregard to our mother tongues will make sure those responsible are banished from south forever,” he said.