New Delhi, Dec. 27: India’s foreign office will from now on spend only half its time on diplomacy. For the remainder of their time at work, the country’s diplomats will pursue kootneeti (diplomacy).

The ministry of external affairs has issued a circular to all its diplomats asking them to write half of all internal notes, letters and messages in Hindi, sparking disbelief among many officials and dry humour among some.

The internal circular does not specify how adherence will be tracked. But several officers said foreign minister Sushma Swaraj had indicated that she was keen on ensuring the policy is practised.

Some diplomats have informally communicated concerns to their superiors, the officials said. “We’re all scurrying around looking for colleagues good with Hindi, for help, for tips, for English-to-Hindi dictionaries, for something,” a career diplomat who has served for over 15 years in the Indian Foreign Service said. “There’s a sense of disbelief, but equally some desperation.”

The foreign ministry’s internal circular to diplomats, issued amid Hindi Day celebrations on December 15, comes close on the heels of criticism the Narendra Modi government has faced over perceptions that it is thrusting Hindi in administrative work.

In June, the government’s decision asking officers to use Hindi on social media sites triggered protests from Tamil Nadu, which has a long history of campaigns against the imposition of Hindi.

But the foreign ministry circular hits at more than a cultural tradition — it strikes at a carefully practised policy that officials argue has implications for India’s relations with the rest of the world, and for the institution of the Indian Foreign Service.

All central government documents released for the public — such as notifications or Parliament questions and answers — are already published in both Hindi and English. In 2010, public sector banks were advised to use Hindi as far as possible in internal communications.

But the foreign ministry’s sensitive internal notes and communications, which capture both secret information gleaned about other nations, and India’s views and thoughts about diplomatic challenges have always been written solely in English.

“There’s a reason for this — diplomacy is not an area where you can experiment with language,” a veteran diplomat close to retirement said. “Every word, every phrase has a very particular meaning and sense, understood by diplomats across the world. And because English is the only language all IFS officers are well versed with, that is the language in which you minimise any chances of wrong signalling.”

The sensitivity of diplomatic language is such that even foreign ministry spokespersons not very confident with Hindi at times plead their inability to reply to questions in the language.

The current foreign office spokesperson, Syed Akbaruddin, is from Kerala and has, on multiple occasions at media briefings, sheepishly asked journalists whether he could respond to their Hindi questions in English.

“Meri Hindi itni achchhi nahi hain, isliye agar aapki aagya ho to kya mein English me jawab de sakta hoon (My Hindi isn’t very good, so if you permit, could I answer in English)?” Akbaruddin routinely asks Hindi journalists, a semi-embarrassed smile on his face.

The IFS has always prized itself on its diversity — at a time the Hindi heartland dominated Indian politics, diplomats from Kerala and Jammu and Kashmir led the country’s foreign policy in the early decades after Independence.

The foreign office and its diplomats also have far less public interaction in New Delhi than counterparts in many other central government departments.

“Our only real sustained daily interaction with ordinary citizens is at overseas missions, especially when our nationals are in trouble,” a diplomat posted at an Indian embassy in West Asia said. “And, at such times, it is our knowledge of multiple local Indian languages — not just Hindi — that comes in use.”

Diplomats have traditionally been required to learn foreign languages. It is the only government service where officials, after being picked, have to undergo compulsory language training — as third secretaries in a foreign posting, where they attend university while also working.

Even diplomats fluent in Hindi said writing notes regularly in the language would not be easy. “We’re not trained in Hindi diplomatic language, and even for those of us who can do it, this may slow down work,” an official said.