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New Delhi : Union Home Affairs and Cooperation MInister Amit Shah attended the Hindi Divas – 2021 programme as the Chief Guest at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, on September 14, 2021. Shah also presented the Rajbhasha Kirti and Rajbhasha Gaurav Awards to Ministries, Departments, and Undertakings who have done excellent work in the Official Language during the years 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21. He also released the 160th issue of the “Rajbhasha Bharati” booklet.
Several dignitaries including Union Ministers of State for Home Nityanand Rai, Ajay Kumar Mishra, and Nishith Pramanik, Union Home Secretary, Secretary, Department of Official Language and senior officers of the Government of India were also present on the occasion.
Shah said that when we accepted the Constitution, along with it, we also decided on September 14, 1949, that the official language of India would be Hindi and its script would be Devanagari. He said that these awards inspire many people and give them the encouragement to do more in promoting the Official Language. While congratulating the non-Hindi award winners, Shah said that you have done a great job to bring the local language as well as the Official Language to the state you come from. He said there are no differences between Hindi and any local language, Hindi is friend of all Indian languages and it can progress only through co-existence, according to a PIB release.
Shah said September 14 is a day to assess what we have done for our languages and the Official Language and what we have done to promote them, what we have done to protect and promote them, especially for the young generation, to command their respect and glory for the local languages. He said that today when we look back, there was a time when we felt that perhaps the country would lose the battle for its languages. Shah said for ages to come, India will preserve its languages, and we should also make our languages flexible and useful.
Shah said the Nation is celebrating the Amrit Mahotsav of Freedom under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to commemorate 75 years of Independence. One of the goals set by the PM Modi for the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav from the ramparts of the Red Fort, was a Self-Reliant India. He said the phrase self-reliant should not only be seen in the context of production and commercial institutions, the phrase self-reliant is also about languages and only then the dream of a Self-Reliant India will be a reality. He said that if we do not become self-reliant in terms of languages, then a Self-Reliant India will have no meaning.
The Home Minister said that three words – Swadeshi, Swabhasha, and Swaraj – greatly contributed to the Freedom Struggle and these were the three strong pillars of the Freedom Struggle. The Prime Minister has launched a huge campaign of a Self-Reliant India to promote Swadeshi. All of us together, especially the new generation, have strengthened our own languages. He said that there is no need to be hesitant, when the Prime Minister of the country speaks in Hindi, speaks in his own language, even at the highest global stage, then what should we be hesitant about? Shah said that gone are the days when people would judge someone for speaking in Hindi. You will be assessed on the basis of your work and abilities, and, not on the basis of language.