Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday, August 4, 2023 that Hindi must be finally accepted without opposition, even if the pace of acceptance is slow.
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Mr. Shah chaired the 38th meeting of the Committee of Parliament on Official Language on Friday.
All languages important
He said Hindi is not in competition with local languages, the nation will be empowered only by promoting all Indian languages.
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.
Mr. Shah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has encouraged the promotion of “Panch Pran” (five vows), which includes respect for heritage and erasing the signs of colonialism. He said that for implementation of these two vows, all Indian languages and the official language will have to show their strength.
Respect local languages
He said that respect for heritage is incomplete without respect for language and acceptance of official language will come only when we give respect to local languages.
He said Mr. Modi has never given a single speech in Parliament in English and Ministers also try to give speeches in Indian languages, this gives a lot of momentum to the movement to connect different languages.
He said that acceptance of official language does not come from law or circular but from goodwill, inspiration and encouragement. He 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.
Since Independence till 2014, nine volumes of report of the Committee of Parliament on Official Language have been submitted, and since 2019 three volumes have been approved. He said that these volumes have been prepared subject wise and the theme of 12th volume is ‘Simplification’.
