Haryana government has decided to stop the use of the words Harijan and Girijan. The state government has ordered all departments to stop using the words ‘Harijan’ and ‘Girijan’ in any official conversation. Haryana Chief Secretary Office issued a letter in this regard on Tuesday (January 13). Mahatma Gandhi named the Scheduled Castes as ‘Harijan’, which means ‘people of God’. However, B.R. Ambedkar was against the use of the word ‘Harijan’ and he preferred to call them Dalits.

“The Haryana government has issued instructions to all administrative secretaries, heads of departments, boards, corporations, public sector undertakings, divisional commissioners, deputy commissioners, sub-divisional officers (civil) and registrars of universities in the state to strictly avoid the use of words like ‘Harijan’ and ‘Girijan’ in all official correspondence,” an official statement said.

Government of Haryana directs all its departments to discontinue the use of the terms ‘Harijan’ and ‘Girijan’ in any official communication. pic.twitter.com/apIdnay4Mf

— ANI (@ANI) January 14, 2026

The Constitution does not use these expressions- Order

The letter reiterates that the Constitution of India does not use these expressions to denote Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The state government has cited the instructions of the Government of India, which clearly mandate the discontinuance of the use of these expressions in official dealings.

Some departments are not strictly following these instructions – statement

“The matter was reviewed by the state government, during which it came to light that some departments were not strictly following these instructions,” the statement said. “Consequently, all departments and officers have been directed to ensure full compliance with the Central Government guidelines and stop using the words ‘Harijan’ and ‘Girijan’ in all official records, correspondence and communications,” it said.

Sonipat Sahil murder case revealed, friend turned out to be the killer, robbery conspiracy was hatched out of greed