Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday, 18 September, responded to the row over his comments on the occasion of Hindi Diwas last week, saying that he "never asked for imposing Hindi over other regional languages and had only requested for learning Hindi as the second language after one's mother tongue."
"I myself come from a non-Hindi speaking state. I come from Gujarat where Gujarati is the language, not Hindi. One has to listen to my speech carefully. If someone wants to do politics, it is their choice," he was quoted as saying at an event organised by Hindi daily Hindustan in Jharkhand’s Ranchi .
He was referring to his speech on the occasion of ‘Hindi Diwas’ on 14 September where he made a pitch for a common language for India, drawing a strong reaction especially from parties in the south which vowed to oppose any attempt to "impose" Hindi.
The home minister said that to end the confusion, people should listen to his speech carefully where he repeatedly said that Indian languages should be strengthened and people should realise the necessity of the Indian languages.
"A child can perform, a child's proper mental growth is possible only when the child studies in mother-tongue. Mother-tongue does not mean Hindi. It is the language of a particular state, like Gujarati in my state. But there should be one language in the country, if someone wants to learn another language, it should be Hindi. I have just made the request. I have failed to understand what is wrong in that," PTI quoted him as saying.
‘Hindi is the One Language That Can Unite the Country’: Shah Had Said Earlier
Shah had earlier also taken to social media on the occasion of Hindi Diwas to claim that Hindi is the one language that can unite the country today.
“India is a country of different languages and every language has its own importance, but it is very important to have a language which should become the identity of India in the world. If one language can unite the country today, it is the widely spoken Hindi language.”Union Home Minister Amit Shah
He had further appealed to Indians to promote their mother tongue as well as use Hindi as ‘one language’ to realise the dreams of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel.
The tweet read, "Today, on the occasion of Hindi Day, I appeal to all the citizens of the country that we should increase the use of our mother tongue and also use the Hindi language as one language to realise the dreams of Bapu and iron man Sardar Patel. Happy Hindi Day."
Many Opposition parties, including the Congress, DMK and the CPI, had lashed out at Shah for his remarks.
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