MP Police Adopts New Lexicon: ‘Katal’ Becomes ‘Vadh’, ‘Investigation’ Now ‘Anusandhan’ – Know All Other Words & Details!

Bhopal: In a major linguistic reform, the Madhya Pradesh government has introduced a new set of official terminology for the police force, replacing over 675 traditional Urdu, Persian, and English terms with simpler and more accessible Hindi words. The move is aimed at making legal language more understandable to the general public.

Under the new system, terms like ‘katal’ (murder) will now be referred to as ‘vadh’, ‘gair hazir’ (absent) as ‘anupasthit’, and ‘janch padtaal’ (investigation) will be termed ‘anusandhan’. Similarly, a ‘sangeen aparadh’ (serious crime) will now be described as a ‘gambhir aparadh’, and ‘tahkikat’ will simply be called ‘janch’.

The initiative aims to bring legal vocabulary closer to the language spoken by the common people, bridging the communication gap between law enforcement and citizens. It reflects a broader effort to decolonize and Indianize legal and administrative systems by removing archaic or foreign-origin words.

Legal expert Ankit Jain told the media that many of the previously used terms were derived from Mughal-era Persian or British English, which were often confusing for the general public. “Replacing them with plain Hindi makes the process more inclusive and easier to comprehend,” he said.

This reform is being seen as a progressive step in aligning law enforcement with modern governance and effective public communication.

List of the words changed–