People from various states should communicate in Hindi rather than English: Amit Shah

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• Apr 11, 2022 | Pratiksha

However, Shah emphasised that Hindi, not indigenous languages, should be recognised as an alternative to English. He also advised that Hindi be made more adaptable

Digital Desk: Home Minister Amit Shah urged that people from other states speak in Hindi rather than English on Thursday.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided that the medium of running the government is the Official Language, and this will definitely increase the importance of Hindi. Now the time has come to make the Official Language an important part of the unity of the country. When citizens of States who speak other languages communicate with each other, it should be in the language of India," Shah was quoted by the Ministry of Home Affairs as having said at the 37th meeting of the Parliamentary Official Language Committee.

However, Shah emphasised that Hindi, not indigenous languages, should be recognised as an alternative to English. He also advised that Hindi be made more adaptable by allowing vocabulary from other local languages to be used.

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The Official Language Committee is chaired by Shah, and its deputy chairwoman is B Mahtab of the BJD.

The Home Minister emphasised the importance of teaching pupils up to Class IX basic Hindi and paying more attention to Hindi teaching tests.

According to the MHA, Shah briefed members that 70% of the Cabinet's agenda is now drafted in Hindi. He stated that 22,000 Hindi instructors have been hired in the Northeast's eight states, and that nine tribal tribes in the region have changed their dialect scripts to Devanagari.

According to the MHA, all of these states have also decided to make Hindi mandatory in schools up to Class X.

According to the ministry, the committee unanimously agreed to deliver the 11th volume of the committee's report to the President.

Shah has continuously campaigned for wider use of Hindi by authorities and the young, claiming that the language has maintained India's culture and value systems.

In 2019, he advocated for "One Nation, One Language" at his inaugural address on the occasion of Hindi Diwas. He had stated, "India is a country of different languages. Every language has its own importance. But it is absolutely essential that the entire country has one language that becomes the identity of the nation in the world. If there is any language that can tie the whole country in one thread, it is the most spoken language of Hindi."

Opposition parties reacted angrily to the announcement. While the CPI(M) described it as an attack on the fundamental values of India's diversity, Congress leader Rajeev Gowda reminded the BJP that Article 29 of the Constitution recognises several languages.

Since then, Shah has toned down his support for the language and has often said that Hindi does not compete with other regional languages, but rather complements them.