In our lifetime, will see country where English speakers will be ashamed: Amit Shah
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said soon a time would come when those speaking English in the country would 'feel ashamed'. Shah, who was speaking at a book launch event here, said those who do not speak Indian languages cease to remain fully Indian and that India cannot be understood through 'foreign languages'.
'Hum sab ke jeevan mein, iss desh mein, angrezi bolne waalon ko sharm aayegi, aise samaj ka nirmaan ab door nahi … Aur main maanta hoon, hamare desh ki bhashayein hamari sanskriti ka gehna hain … hamare desh ki bhashaon ke baghair hum Bharatiya hi nahin rehte. Hamara desh, iska itihas, iski sanskriti, hamara dharm, isko samajhna hai to koi videshi bhasha mein nahin samajh sakte (In our lifetime, we will see a society in which those speaking English will feel ashamed, that day is not far … I believe that the languages of our country are the ornament of our culture. Without them, we would not have been Bharatiya. Our country, its history, its culture, our Dharma, if these have to be understood, it cannot be done in foreign languages),' Shah said at the launch of <Main Boond Swayam, Khud Sagar Hoon, authored by IAS officer Ashutosh Agnihotri.
The Home Minister said India could not be imagined in its entirety through 'half-baked foreign languages'. 'Only Bharatiyata can help us do it, only Bharatiya languages can do it. I know that this fight is tough, but I strongly believe that Bharatiya society will win this fight.'
'Once again, with pride, we will run our country using our languages; we will think, research, find solutions and also lead the world,' Shah said.
In recent years, the BJP-led government at the Centre has found itself in the middle of language rows involving the DMK-led government in Tamil Nadu, which has accused it of Hindi imposition. The Centre has denied this, saying the three-language formula does not make Hindi compulsory. Shah, however, spoke of Indian languages without going into which language can be a link language in a linguistically diverse country.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
United News of India
27 minutes ago
- United News of India
Exchanging high commissioners with India is a basic first step in restoring ties: Canadian PM Carney
Ottawa, June 19 (UNI) Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said that exchanging high commissioners with India is a 'basic first step' in restoring the diplomatic relationship with New Delhi. Answering a media query on why his government has chosen to reappoint a high commissioner to India following talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Alberta, PM Carney said: 'It's a foundational necessary first step for the relationship, which is to exchange high commissioners, and re-begin effectively diplomatic service, or consular service. 'We have very deep ongoing ties, people to people, not just of Indo-Canadians but of Canadians with India. We don't have a high commissioner in India right now, we are not serving Canadians in India right now, because of where we are. It's reciprocal for the Indian government. 'So having a basic level of engagement is in many respects a duty of the government. I'm glad we came to the agreement understanding. It is also based on several things, the law enforcement cooperation, understanding of issues of transnational repression, which we discussed not just at the G7 but also in the conversation that PM Modi and I had.' To a question on whether the two leaders discussed the issue of the killing of prominent Khalistani and Indo-Canadian Hardeep Singh Nijjar in 2023 in British Columbia, over which issue the relations between the two nations had soured, PM Carney brushed it off, with: 'Look, I never make it a policy to give a line by line transcript readout of what exactly was said in the meeting, and I'm not about to start now.' On June 6, the Canadian PM called up PM Modi to invite him for the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta. Later on June 7, explaining his stance, PM Carney had said that India being the fifth largest economy in the world, having the largest population, and being central to very vital supply global value chains, deserves to be at the G7 Summit table, and that he had spoken to PM Modi to invite him. 'India is the fifth largest economy in the world, effectively the most populous country in the world, central to a number of those supply chains, at the heart of those supply chains, and so that (invite) makes sense. 'And in addition, bilaterally, we have now agreed, importantly, to continue law enforcement dialogue, so there's some progress on that which recognises issues of accountability. I extended the invitation to PM Modi in that context and he has accepted.' During their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G7 Summit earlier this week, the two leaders agreed to reinstate High Commissioners in their respective countries. The two leaders also underscored the importance of 'restarting senior ministerial as well as working-level engagements across various domains to rebuild trust and bring momentum to the relationship'. They also discussed the importance of restarting the stalled trade negotiations. Prime Minister Modi in a post on X, termed their meeting as an excellent one and added that the two prime ministers look forward to working closely to add momentum to the bilateral friendship. 'Had an excellent meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney. Complimented him and the Canadian Government for successfully hosting the G7 Summit. 'India and Canada are connected by a strong belief in democracy, freedom and rule of law. 'PM Carney and I look forward to working closely to add momentum to the India-Canada friendship. Areas like trade, energy, space, clean energy, critical minerals, fertilisers and more offer immense potential in this regard.' UNI RN
Hindustan Times
30 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Reject pre-feasibility report on river linking: T'gana CM to Centre
Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Thursday appealed to Union Jal Shakti minister CR Patil to reject the pre-feasibility report of the Godavari-Banakacharla project proposed by the Andhra Pradesh government seeking to divert Godavari waters to the Krishna basin, an official statement read. The chief minister, along with state irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy met with the union minister, apart from Union secretary Debashree Mukherjee and other senior officials of the ministry at Shramshakti Bhavan in Delhi. An official statement from the chief minister's office (CMO) said Revanth Reddy briefed the union minister about how the Godavari-Banakacharla project was against the interests of Telangana state. He said the Andhra Pradesh government was taking up the project in contravention of the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal-1980 (GWDT) and the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014. The chief minister said though the Andhra Pradesh government was claiming that the project was based on flood waters of Godavari, there was no mention of flood waters or surplus waters in the GWDT-1980. Reddy reminded that according to the 2014 AP Reorganization Act, if a new project is to be built in any state, it must first be discussed and approved by the Godavari River Management Board, Central Water Commission (CWC) and the Apex Council headed by the Union Jal Shakti minister and the chief ministers of the two states. 'Andhra Pradesh violated all these important issues and was proceeding with efforts to construct the project,' he complained and appealed to the Centre to stop all works being undertaken as part of the Godavari-Banakacharla project. Revanth Reddy also told Patil that the Telangana government was ready for talks to discuss lifting of water to Penna basin by linking Icchampally – Nagarjuna Sagar, which will be funded by Centre, instead of Polavaram – Banakacharla, if Andhra Pradesh really believes there was any flood water in river Godavari. He also explained to the union minister about the change of Polavaram designs as per the GDWT -1980 regulations and works being carried out in violation of the environmental clearances despite objections being raised. He requested the union minister that the central government should pay attention to ensuring no violation of regulations took place while constructing the Polavaram national project. Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu said it was not proper on the part of the Telangana government to create hurdles in his government's attempt to utilise flood waters of Godavari, which was otherwise going waste into the sea. Speaking to reporters at Amaravati, Naidu said both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were utilising Godavari waters as per their requirements. 'In fact, except Polavaram major irrigation project, all the other projects built by the two states had no permission from the Centre,' he said. He said Andhra Pradesh had never objected to the Telangana constructing projects on Godavari river like Kaleshwaram which is in violation of the tribunal award. 'There is plenty of water in Godavari and no project will affect the interests of other states. Any disputes can be resolved through dialogue across the table,' Naidu said.
New Indian Express
32 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Bill to pull up substandard seeds suppliers soon
NEW DELHI: The Centre is set to introduce a Seed Amendment Bill to the Seeds Act in the Winter Session of parliament. Intended to be farmer-friendly, it will ensure seed traceability and hold suppliers accountable for substandard seeds, fertilisers and pesticides, which significantly affect farmers' incomes and the country's food security. The decision comes after Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shivraj Singh Chouhan,received numerous complaints about the poor quality of seeds, pesticides, and fertilisers during his 15-day 'Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan' recently. Chouhan stated. 'The government will take strong measures to strengthen the Seed Act and implement stringent quality control mechanisms to ensure that only certified, high-quality inputs reach farmers.' To achieve this, the government plans to enhance the current network of central and state laboratories, and mandating accreditation from the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), which is part of the Quality Council of India. However, the country has, currently, fewer laboratories than necessary. 'Our first step is to instruct states and central agencies to obtain NABL accreditation from their own funds,' said Devesh Chaturvedi, Secretary, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. 'The testing fees for collected samples of seeds, pesticides, or fertilisers will be covered by the Central government's Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana,' he added. He explained how biases in sampling would be eliminated. 'Our software will randomly select the retailer's name from which field inspectors will collect the proper samples. These samples will be packed, encoded with a QR code and sent to laboratories for testing. This will minimise manipulation and foster trust among genuine manufacturers and retailers.'
