Not against English but we should glorify Indian languages: Amit Shah

New Delhi: Days after facing criticism over his remarks that people speaking in English will start feeling “ashamed” soon, Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said there should not be opposition to any foreign language and that Hindi “cannot be an enemy of any Indian language”.

Addressing the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the Official Language Department of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Shah also said that he believes in his heart that Hindi can only be a “friend” to other 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...on the way to creating a great India, we will develop our Indian languages, make them rich and increase their utility..." he said.

Shah said there is a need for people to take their language seriously and until a person takes pride in his language, we cannot be free from the mentality of slavery.

At the same time, he added, "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."

His comments came days after he triggered a controversy saying that "time is not far away for a society where people speaking in English in this country feel ashamed".

Several people criticised him with Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi saying that English is not an obstacle but a “bridge” that gives every child equal opportunity though the BJP-RSS doesn't want the poor to learn it, as it empowers them.

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. "We will also contact the states, try to convince and persuade them on this," he said adding,. Hindi and other Indian languages together can take the self-esteem of the country’s culture to its final destination.

Recalling that JEE, NEET and CUET are now being taken in 13 languages, he said one could only apply for the constable recruitment in paramilitary forces in English or Hindi earlier but the Modi government allowed the exam in 13 languages. Today, he said, 95% of the candidates are giving the exam in their mother tongue and this tells how bright the future of Indian languages is in the coming days.

"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 reiterated his appeal to states to take steps to start engineering and medical courses in the local language.