New Delhi: Union Minister Amit Shah on Friday, said that Hindi, being the official language, must eventually be accepted without any kind of opposition, even if the pace of acceptance is slow.
He was addressing the 38th meeting of the Committee of Parliament on Official Language.
Shah also added that the acceptance of the official language does not come from law or circulars, but instead from goodwill, inspiration and encouragement.
It is to be noted that Hindi is listed as one of the official languages in the Indian Constitution along with English.
During the meeting, the 12th volume of the report of the Committee of Parliament on Official Language was also approved which will be presented to the President.
Stating that Hindi was not in competition with any local languages, Shah said that India can be empowered through the promotion of all Indian languages.
He further said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi encouraged the promotion of “Panch Pran” (five vows) for India’s development, which includes respect for heritage and erasing the signs of colonialism.
Shah said that in order to fulfil the vows of erasing traces of colonialism and respect for our legacy, all Indian languages, as well as the official language must show their strength.
He also pointed out that the PM has not given a single English speech in the Parliament and that many Ministers try to talk in Indian languages. Shah added that the respect we have for our legacy and heritage is not complete without respect for Indian languages and acceptance of the official language.
“Acceptance of official language will come only when we give respect to local languages,” he said.
He also said that steps have been taken to provide engineering and medical courses in 10 languages and these courses will be available in all Indian languages subsequently.
The Home Minister said that Indian languages and their dictionaries remained intact even after the end of British rule, which is a major achievement adding that languages have worked to unite our country.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, on Saturday, strongly condemned Shah's speech about the Hindi language and called it an audacious push for Hindi acceptance, reiterating that Tamil Nadu would reject any form of Hindi hegemony and imposition.
He said that “Igniting the embers of the '1965 Anti-Hindi Imposition Agitations' would be an unwise move”.
"It's a blatant attempt to subjugate non-Hindi speakers. Tamil Nadu rejects any form of Hindi hegemony and imposition. Our language and heritage define us; we won't be enslaved by Hindi", he further added.
Many states like Karnataka and West Bengal also have strongly resisted the imposition of Hindi.
Tamil Nadu is one of the very few states which agitate against the imposition of Hindi on non-Hindi speaking states since the Union government tried to implement Hindi language as the official language of the country half of a century ago.
In 1965, protests erupted in various parts of the state and led to riots in February 1965, against the Hindi imposition, which killed 70 people.
Tamil Nadu is the only state in India to follow a two-language policy of Tamil and English since the 1960s against the three-language policy followed elsewhere.
In 2022, Stalin had strongly objected to Shah’s statement that Hindi unites the whole nation in a thread of unity as an official language, saying that the country remains India and not “Hindia.”