Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement on Thursday that when citizens of States communicate with each other, it should be in the language of India, with Hindi being accepted as an alternative to English, sparked widespread criticism with Opposition leaders dubbing it “Hindi imperialism”.
Mr. Shah, who is the chairman of the Parliamentary Official Language Committee, informed members that 70% of the agenda of the Union Cabinet was now prepared in Hindi. A statement from the Ministry of Home Affairs, quoted Mr. Shah as saying that the time had come to make the official language an important part of the unity of the country. He added that when citizens of States who speak other language communicate with each other, it should be in the language of India. Hindi should be accepted as an alternative to English and not to local languages.
Countering the Minister, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh asked why the Home Minister did not learn a south Indian language instead of ramming Hindi down everyone’s throat.
