Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday said that it is impossible for India to progress without Hindi, our national language.

“It is unfortunate that everyone is after English medium; I am against Britishers but not their language. We should learn all languages but by learning English our mindset is changing and this is wrong. This is against the interest of the nation,” Naidu said.

"Hindi as Rashtra bhasha (national language) is very important and we cannot do without it. The majority of the population in the country speaks in Hindi and so it is important to learn Hindi. However, before that, we should be fluent in our mother tongue.”

Naidu was speaking at an event in Sabarmati Ashram, where he presented 100 volumes of collected works of Mahatma Gandhi in English to the Ashram. The minister for housing and urban poverty alleviation and information and broadcasting in Modi government, meanwhile, delivered his lecture at the event using both, English and Hindi.

Interestingly, Gujarat High Court in 2010 had reported to observed that though a majority of people in India have accepted Hindi as a national language, there was nothing on record to suggest that any provision has been made or order issued declaring Hindi as a national language of the country. Hindi has been declared as an official language in the Constitution and not as the national language.

The minister's comments also come in the backdrop of opposition by certain political parties in the South against the imposition of Hindi language. Parties as Janata Dal (Secular) in Karnataka and DMK in Tamil Nadu have in the past criticised Centre's move to impose Hindi on them. DMK’s M K Stalin had even threatened to begin an anti-Hindi agitation after milestones marked in Hindi sprung up on several highways in the state of Tamil Nadu. Bengaluru too is said to have witnessed protests from some quarters after Namma Metro sign boards had instructions in Hindi.

“I want the nation to discuss, promote and learn our mother languages more and at the same time learn Hindi as well,” Naidu added.