The Hindu : dated April 24, 1953: Replacing Mr. Mrs. And Miss

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 24, 2003

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous - This Day That Age

dated April 24, 1953: Replacing Mr. Mrs. And Miss

From the Editorials: "A correspondent points outs that the Government order streamlining honorifics to be used in official communication does not cover some cases. He asks how a Hindu widow or boy is to be addressed. Others have suggested that `Srimathi Ramaswamy' would sound strange to a people who do not glory in surnames. There seems to be neither logic nor convenience in using `Sri' before every individual's name even if a dozen males have to be mentioned, when a whole bevy of ladies may be briefly introduced with the collective `Srimati-s'; which incidentally is neither fish or flesh - with the English plural suffix grafted on a Sanskrit base. People long been accustomed to other styles of address may wonder why one particular mode should be preferred rather than another. If the change now proposed has been inspired by the all too common notion that uniformity is good in itself, we would point out that this is far from true... Homogeneity in modes of address is not to be achieved by verbal devices and Governments are not particularly qualified to set up as arbiters of etiquette or social usage.''

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