India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI, September 14— On the occasion of ‘Hindi Diwas’ today, Union Home Minister and BJP president Amit Shah asked citizens of the country to increase the use of the Hindi language in their everyday works to realise the dreams of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
“India is a country of different languages and every language has its own importance but it is very important to have a language of the whole country which should become the identity of India in the world. Today, if one language can do the work of tying the country to the door of unity, then it is the most spoken Hindi language,” Shah said in a series of tweets in Hindi.
“Today, on the occasion of Hindi Day, I appeal to all the citizens of the country that we should increase the use of our mother tongue and also use the Hindi language as one language to realise the dreams of Bapu and iron man Sardar Patel. Happy Hindi Day,” he said.
आज हिंदी दिवस के अवसर पर मैं देश के सभी नागरिकों से अपील करता हूँ कि हम अपनी-अपनी मातृभाषा के प्रयोग को बढाएं और साथ में हिंदी भाषा का भी प्रयोग कर देश की एक भाषा के पूज्य बापू और लौह पुरूष सरदार पटेल के स्वप्प्न को साकार करने में योगदान दें।
हिंदी दिवस की हार्दिक शुभकामनाएं
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) September 14, 2019
Shah pitching for Hindi as primary language of the country has led to a heated debated on social media with people on both sides of the divide offering their views.
Here are some of the tweets of the citizens on the subject:
Bengali is equal to Hindi
Tamil is equal to Hindi
Gujarati is equal to Hindi
Kannada is equal to Hindi
All Indian languages are equal to Hindi#StopHindiImposition and respect the unique diversity that has existed for more than a thousand years. https://t.co/e5bsTIRC2v
— Srivatsa (@srivatsayb) September 14, 2019
Srivatsa: “Amit Shah, my mother tongue is Kannada. I am conversant in Hindi, Urdu, Tamil, Telugu & Malayalam as well. I love and respect all our languages, especially Hindi. But India is not a Hindi speaking nation. There is no ‘One Language’ & there will never be. #StopHindiImposition”
Ganesh Chetan: “We Kannadigas take up this challenge Amit Shah. Try to impose Hindi on us. Just try. #MakeMyLanguageOfficial #StopHindiImposition .”
Hindi isn’t every Indian’s “mother tongue”. Could you try appreciating the diversity & beauty of the many mother tongues that dot this land? Article 29 gives every Indian the right to a distinct language, script & culture.
India’s much bigger than Hindi, Hindu, Hindutva https://t.co/YMVjNlaYry
— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) September 14, 2019
Asaduddin Owaisi: “Hindi isn’t every Indian’s “mother tongue”. Could you try appreciating the diversity & beauty of the many mother tongues that dot this land? Article 29 gives every Indian the right to a distinct language, script & culture. India’s much bigger than Hindi, Hindu, Hindutva.”
What is wrong in what @AmitShah is saying? Why so much outrage by Latin Liberals?? We can use a foreign language of our oppressors – ENGLISH but batting for Hindi use , use of our mothertongue, makes the Khan Market Anglophiles squirm? They even prefer Italian over Hindi!! https://t.co/JJ4zQeaRlX
— Shehzad Jai Hind (@Shehzad_Ind) September 14, 2019
Shehzad Jai Hind: “What is wrong in what @AmitShah is saying? Why so much outrage by Latin Liberals?? We can use a foreign language of our oppressors – ENGLISH but batting for Hindi use, use of our mother tongue, makes the Khan Market Anglophiles squirm? They even prefer Italian over Hindi!!”
Annakkavur Kesavan: “There is no National language in India. Let everybody speak their own mother tongue. But when it comes to interact with other states let us use Hindi coz majority of ppls understand Hindi. That’s what Amit Shah says. Nothing wrong in it.”
Hindi Diwas is celebrated every year on September 14 to mark the significance of the day when the Constituent Assembly adopted Hindi as the official language of India. Hindi is one of the 22 scheduled languages of the country.
In the past, the country, particularly its southern parts, has witnessed violent protests over attempts to impose Hindi on the entire country.
Couple of months back, the draft National Education Policy 2019 had recommended Hindi as a compulsory part of three-language formula even in non-Hindi states, leading to strong reactions from political parties in South India. Consequently, the central government had to amend the draft policy document.
–With Inputs From IANS
