Don’t be rude, dear

Union HRD minister Smriti Irani got into a Twitter battle with Bihar Congress president Ashok Choudhary after she objected to being addressed as “dear”. The word “dear” is actually the correct formal form of address in any correspondence in English. The word “respected” in its place is not English usage, but translated from Indian languages. Hope this “dear” row will not end with further dalit discrimination, for the Bihar minister asked her in a tweet whether it was the address “dear” from a dalit — Dr Choudhary is one — was what was offensive.

Padmini Raghavendra

Secunderabad