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India Gazette
5 hours ago
- Politics
- India Gazette
In the past, language was used as a means to divide India: Amit Shah
New Delhi [India], June 26 (ANI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated on Thursday that language was previously used as a means to divide India, adding that the Centre would ensure that Indian languages become a powerful medium to unite the country. 'In the last few decades, language was used as a means to divide India. They could not break it, but efforts were made,' Shah said while speaking at the Golden Jubilee celebration of the Official Language Department in Delhi. 'We will ensure that our languages become a powerful medium to unite India. For this, the Official Language Department will work. I believe that the foundation that is being laid under the leadership of Modi ji will create a great India in 2047, and on the way to creating a great India, we will develop our Indian languages, make them rich, increase their utility,' he added. Shah advocated for the greater use of Indian languages in governmental communications. 'Indian languages should be used as much as possible in government work, not only in the central government but also in the state government. For this, we will also contact the states, try to convince and persuade them,' he said. 'JEE, NEET, CUET are now being taken in 13 languages. Earlier, you could only apply for the constable recruitment of CAPF in English or Hindi. We made it flexible and allowed the exam in 13 languages, and today I am happy to say that 95% of the candidates are giving the constable exam in their mother tongue. This tells how bright the future of Indian languages is in the coming days,' he added. He said that languages were not just a medium of communication, but the soul of the nation, further stating that it was necessary to keep languages alive and enrich them. 'As far as the country is concerned, language is not just a medium of communication; it is the soul of a nation. It is important to keep the languages alive and to enrich them. We should make all these efforts in the coming days for all Indian languages and especially for the official language,' he said. He also said that Hindi was a friend of all the Indian languages, further stating that Hindi and Indian languages together could play an important role in enhancing the nation's self-esteem. 'I believe from my heart that Hindi cannot be the enemy of any Indian language. Hindi is a friend of all Indian languages , and Hindi and Indian languages together can take our self-esteem program to its ultimate goal. There is no opposition to any language; there should not be opposition to any foreign language, but the insistence should be to glorify our language, there should be an insistence to speak our language, and there should be an insistence to think in our language,' he stated. 'We should get rid of the mentality of slavery. And until a person takes pride in his language, does not express himself in his language, we cannot be free from the mentality of slavery...' he added. (ANI)
Hindustan Times
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Hindi companion of all Indian languages rather than an adversary: Amit Shah
Union home minister Amit Shah on Thursday said Hindi can never be an adversary to any Indian language, but it is a companion to all. Shah also said that as far as the country is concerned, language is not just a medium of communication, it is the soul of a nation. (ANI photo) Speaking at the golden jubilee celebration of the Union home ministry's Official Language Department, Shah said Hindi is a 'companion' of other Indian languages rather than an 'adversary.' Calling for a collaborative effort to uplift all Indian languages, Shah said that it is with the collaboration of both Hindi and other Indian languages that we can uplift self-pride using languages,' he said. He urged language experts to contribute to the digital 'Hindi Shabd Sindhu' dictionary and assured that all newly incorporated words will be widely promoted. Also Read:India never bows to dictatorship: Shah on Emergency Shah emphasised that no language should be restricted from evolving and growing. Clarifying his stance on foreign languages, Shah said, 'The foreign languages should never be opposed. But our purpose should be to glorify, speak and think in our language. A completely developed nation would only be conceptualised when our languages are glorified to express our heritage.' He further appealed to all states to enable medical and engineering education in regional languages. 'No nation can become great by ignoring its mother tongue,' he said, noting that nearly 95% of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) constable aspirants take their exams in their native languages. 'In the last few decades, language has been used as a medium to disintegrate India, but the attempt was unsuccessful. We will ensure that our languages become a steadfast medium to integrate India and the Official Language Department will work towards it,' Shah added. Speaking about the department, he said its primary aim was to make administration accessible in a language that citizens can understand. 'No country can preserve the culture, literature, history and social morals by separating them from their language. It is important to run the administration of any country in its own language to be able to progress based on its culture and with self-respect,' Shah said. The Official Language Department was established in 1975 to promote the use of Hindi in government functioning and official communication.
India Gazette
9 hours ago
- Politics
- India Gazette
"Language is the soul of a nation, not just a medium of communication," says Union Minister Amit Shah
New Delhi [India], June 26 (ANI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said that languages were not just a medium of communication, but the soul of the nation, further stating that it was necessary to keep languages alive and enrich them. 'As far as the country is concerned, language is not just a medium of communication; it is the soul of a nation. It is important to keep the languages alive and to enrich them. We should make all these efforts in the coming days for all Indian languages and especially for the official language,' he said. Speaking at the Golden Jubilee celebration of the Official Language Department in Delhi. Amit Shah said that Hindi was a friend of all the Indian languages, further stating that Hindi and Indian languages together could play an important role in enhancing the nation's self-esteem. 'I believe from my heart that Hindi cannot be the enemy of any Indian language. Hindi is a friend of all Indian languages , and Hindi and Indian languages together can take our self-esteem program to its ultimate goal. There is no opposition to any language; there should not be opposition to any foreign language, but the insistence should be to glorify our language, there should be an insistence to speak our language, and there should be an insistence to think in our language,' he stated. Shah also said that the country as a whole needs to get rid of the mentality of slavery. 'We should get rid of the mentality of slavery. And until a person takes pride in his language, does not express himself in his language, we cannot be free from the mentality of slavery...' he added. The Minister highlighted the government's achievements in making sure students could give competitive examinations in multiple Indian languages 'JEE, NEET, CUET are now being taken in 13 languages. Earlier, you could only apply for the constable recruitment of CAPF in English or Hindi. We made it flexible and allowed the exam in 13 languages, and today I am happy to say that 95% of the candidates are giving the constable exam in their mother tongue. This tells how bright the future of Indian languages is in the coming days...' Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta was also present at the event. (ANI)
The Hindu
10 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
‘Language is the soul of a nation, not merely a medium of communication,' says Union Minister Amit Shah
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday (June 26, 2025) said that languages were not just a medium of communication, but the soul of the nation, further stating that it was necessary to keep languages alive and enrich them. "As far as the country is concerned, language is not merely a medium of communication; it is the soul of a nation. History and culture cannot be promoted without our own languages. It is important to keep the languages alive and to enrich them. We should make all these efforts in the coming days for all Indian languages and especially for the official language," he said. Speaking at the Golden Jubilee celebration of the Official Language Department in Delhi, Mr. Shah said that Hindi was a friend of all the Indian languages, further stating that Hindi and Indian languages together could play an important role in enhancing the nation's self-esteem. "I believe from my heart that Hindi cannot be the enemy of any Indian language. Hindi is a friend of all Indian languages, and Hindi and Indian languages together can take our self-esteem program to its ultimate goal. There is no opposition to any language; there should not be opposition to any foreign language, but the insistence should be to glorify our language, there should be an insistence to speak our language, and there should be an insistence to think in our language," he stated. Praising Bharatiya Bhasha Anubhag (Indian Languages Section), Mr. Shah said that only Indian languages are used for Centre as well States' administrative work. 'I want to appeal to all States to make arrangements so that medical and engineering courses could be taught in the language of the States. In the coming days, Bharatiya Bhasha Anubhag will take steps to make Indian languages the language of the youth. We will contact States to ensure that maximum administrative work is done in Indian languages,' Mr. Shah said. Mr. Shah also said that the country as a whole needs to get rid of the mentality of slavery. "We should get rid of the mentality of slavery. And until a person takes pride in his language, does not express himself in his language, we cannot be free from the mentality of slavery..." he added. The Minister highlighted the government's achievements in making sure students could give competitive examinations in multiple Indian languages. "JEE, NEET, CUET are now being taken in 13 languages. Earlier, you could only apply for the constable recruitment of CAPF in English or Hindi. We made it flexible and allowed the exam in 13 languages, and today I am happy to say that 95% of the candidates are giving the constable exam in their mother tongue. This tells how bright the future of Indian languages is in the coming days..." Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta was also present at the event. (with inputs from ANI)
News18
10 hours ago
- Politics
- News18
'Language Was Used To Divide India For Decades': Amit Shah's Fresh Push For Mother Tongue Use
Last Updated: Shah emphasized the use of Indian languages for official work and highlighted the increased use of Indian languages in competitive exams. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday made a fresh push for the use of Indian languages for official work both at the Centre and in states. He said language was used as a means to divide India in the last few decades and emphasised that the central government will increase the utility of Indian languages. 'In the last few decades, language was used as a means to divide India. They could not break it, but efforts were made. We will ensure that our languages become a powerful medium to unite India. For this, the Official Language Department will work. I believe that the foundation that is being laid under the leadership of Modi ji will create a great India in 2047 and on the way to creating a great India, we will develop our Indian languages, make them rich, increase their utility," he said. 'Indian languages should be used as much as possible in government work, not only in the central government but also in the state government. For this, we will also contact the states, try to convince and persuade them," he added. The Home Minister also pointed out that students are now able to take competitive exams like JEE, NEET, CUET in 13 languages. 'Earlier, you could only apply for the constable recruitment of CAPF in English or Hindi. We made it flexible and allowed the exam in 13 languages and today I am happy to say that 95% of the candidates are giving the constable exam in their mother tongue. This tells how bright the future of Indian languages is in the coming days," he added. However, Shah said there is no opposition to any language, including a foreign language, but the focus should on our glorification of the nation's language. 'There should be an insistence to speak our language, and there should be an insistence to think in our language," he said. 'We should get rid of the mentality of slavery. And until a person takes pride in his language, does not express himself in his language, we cannot be free from the mentality of slavery…" First Published: June 26, 2025, 14:26 IST
