Unparliamentary Language

Today morning I read a news in Times of India that the word "weed" is considered unparliamentary by the Loksabha.The Loksabha secretariat brings out a book every year listing 'unparliamentary words'.The idea is to educate the members to refrain from using them during debates and their speeches in the House.The intent of the book is to make the dignified members to uphold the dignity and decorum of the house.But words classified as unparliamentary over the years by presiding officers in both houses of parliament and state legislatures are quite interesting.Most of the time it is not 'per se' the word that is objectionable,but the context in which it is used.'Weed' per se is not objectionable.But if a member says the government is a "garden full of weeds",it is objectionable.Two other words that are listed as objectionable based on context are 'nuisance' and 'marketing'.Once uttered,the presiding officers expunge such words from being recorded in theproceedings.Refering to a minister a member said 'he has gone marketing' and it was considered unparliamentary.'Gang four' is considered unparliamentary.Because it is an insinuation against China.During the chinese revolution a coterie was knownas 'gang four'.In common parlance it is now used to denote a group.But never in Indian Parliament.Such remarks against friendly countries,heads of state etc are termed unparliamentary.You may call it ironical,even the word 'dignity' can be considered unparliamentary if it is used in an obejectional way describing the judiciary.Two other words considered unparliamentary in Indian Parliament are 'Agent and fascist'.Any abusive and rude language unsuitable for parliament is unparliamentary.Words that are impolite,disparaging,insulting,accusations about lying,accusations about being drunk and misrepresenting others are all considered unparliamentary.Indian constitution is modelled on Lord Eskines bible of 'Parliamentary procedures'.He has not defined 'unparliamentary language'.But he has defined what should be the parliamentary language."good temper and moderation are the characterestics of parliamentary language".But over the years most parliamentarians have become an intolerant lot and hurl all sorts of accusations and in the process use unparliamentary words.I don't think any session would have passed in recent times without any expunction of unparliamentary words.All these restrictions are basicaly meant for members to treat fellow members with respect.Else the house itsef will be brought in to disrepute.Even suggesting improper motives against another member can be unparliamentary.It is a real tough job for the presiding officers to police the member's language.Often one finds the speaker pleading helplessly to members to retain their composure amidst great din. Under such pandemonium there are chances for many objectionable words to go unnoticed also. some other words considered unparliamentary are 'clown,vicious,humbug,greasyhands,racist,damned,nincompop,conspiracy,politicallymotivated and unconstitutional' .The book contains lot of Hindi expressons also that are unparliamentary.Ironically what Harbhajan singh said to Symonds "Teri ma ki..."is not unparliamentary.But "Teri bap ka ...." is unparliamentary.'Tricks' and 'boring' could also be termed unparliamentary based on context.Some others that are unparliamentary are 'foreign money,true colours,for chirst's sake,and barbarian'. Some choicest epithets are also included in the list.'Bastard,make mess,loose talk and marxist capitalist' are also forbidden as unparliamentary.'Eunuch and impotent' are also unparliamentary.Once on cauvery water dispute debate Dr.Subramanyam Swamy called the Vajpayee governement as impotent,only to be expunged.'Henchmen' is another word not allowed in parliament.'Stern school master,shy,and stunt' are also listed as unparliamentary.Somanth chaterji ruled the word 'chamchagiri' in Hindi which means sycophancy is not unparliamentary.Even if the speaker says'You sit down',it is considered unparliamentary.Even words like 'April fool,civil war,and nervous strain' are forbidden in parliament.Calling a member as 'fraud' is unparliamentry.But describing some ones conduct in those terms is not.It is only a question of interpretation of the presiding officer and is subjective some times. Nejma Heptulla once ruled calling a member 'stupid' is unparliamentary.But describing a members or a ministers action as stupid is not unparliamentary.The funniest thing that happened recently in Malaysian parliament is also worth mentioning.A Malay minister Harun asked a Tamil speaking opposition member to 'Sit down'(Okkarung) in Tamil,during a debate.His pronounciation of the Tamil word was so awful and it sounded like a vulgar Tamil word and created an uproar in the Malaysian parliament.The tamil member wanted the minister to apologise.The minister said he was only asking the member to sit down.The speaker said since he does not know the language he can not give a ruling based on Tamil members protest.Finaly the speaker consulted a Tamil knowing ruling party member and the minister tendered an apology.Whatever it is, there are always new additions to the list every year and this book is becoming a voluminous one.Hope our parliamentarians follow these guidelines and not waste the nations precious time deciding what is unparliamentary language.