Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday urged people to respect all Indian languages, including Hindi, as part of India’s journey towards a self-reliant, self-confident, and developed country. Stressing unity in linguistic diversity, he said there is no competition between Hindi and other Indian languages, as they complement and strengthen one another.
On the occasion of Hindi Diwas, in a video message, Mr. Shah said all Indian languages should become cornerstones of technology, science, justice, education, and administration. “India is fundamentally a language-oriented nation. Our languages have been a powerful medium for carrying forward culture, history, traditions, knowledge, science, philosophy, and spirituality from generation to generation,” he said.
Noting that languages across the country have shown the way to people in every situation to stay organised and move forward united, he said by becoming companions of one another and bound in the thread of unity, they are moving forward together.
“Saint Tiruvalluvar is sung with as much devotion in the south as he is read with interest in the north. Krishnadevaraya was as popular in the south as he was in the north. The patriotic compositions of Subramania Bharati ignite national pride in the youth of every region. Goswami Tulsidas is revered by every Indian, and the couplets of Saint Kabir are found in translations in Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam,” he said, also citing the works of Surdas, Srimanta Sankardeva, Mahapurush Madhavdeva, and Bhupen Hazarika.
Stating that Indian languages played a significant role in making the freedom movement a nationwide phenomenon, he said: “Slogans like ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Jai Hind’ emerged from our linguistic consciousness and became symbols of pride for independent India.”
“In the last decade, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, a golden era of renaissance for Indian languages and culture has emerged. Whether it is the platform of the United Nations, the G-20 summit, or addressing the SCO [Shanghai Cooperation Organisation], Modi ji has enhanced the pride of Indian languages by communicating in Hindi and other Indian languages,” said Mr. Shah.
He said since 2014, the use of Hindi in government work has been continuously promoted. Last year, on Hindi Diwas, the Bharatiya Bhasha Anubhag was established with the aim of ensuring seamless translation between all major Indian languages. In the digital era, the government was developing Indian languages as future-capable, relevant, and a driving force for the country’s growth.
‘No competition between Hindi and other Indian languages’
Later, at the fifth Akhil Bhartiya Rajbhasha Sammelan held in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar, he said there is no competition between Hindi and other Indian languages and that they complement each other.
On initiatives taken by the government, Mr. Shah said the Sarathi system helps translation from Hindi to all recognised Indian languages. He urged all the Chief Ministers to send him letters in their respective languages, assuring that responses would be sent in the same language. In the coming days, communication through Sarathi will be in one’s native language.
“To foster pride in our languages, the Shabd Sindhu dictionary was created, starting with 51,000 words, and now exceeding seven lakh words… by 2029, it will become the largest dictionary in all languages of the world,” he said, adding that the dictionary was making Hindi more flexible.
Mr. Shah said under Mr. Modi’s leadership, about 3.28 lakh government employees from other language backgrounds have been trained in Hindi. About 40,000 employees have been trained in typing, 1,918 in shorthand, and 13,000 in translation. The Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG), and University Grants Commission (UGC) examinations are being held in 12 languages.
