New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s appeal to unify India with the country's most widely-spoken language, Hindi, was met with sharp criticism from the southern states. Veteran leaders such as DMK president MK Stalin and former Karnataka chief ministers Siddaramaiah and HD Kumaraswamy criticised the home minister for pitching for 'one nation, one language' on the occasion of Hindi Diwas. Shah stressed on the ability of Hindi as a widely spoken language in uniting the country and said that it is necessary to have one language which could represent India in the world.
“India is a country of different languages and every language has its own importance but it is very important to have a language of the whole country which should become the identity of India in the world. Today, if one language can do the work of tying the country to the door of unity, then it is the most spoken Hindi language,” Shah wrote on Twitter.
Shah's statement triggered a debate in the southern states with leaders protesting against “imposition of Hindi”. Veteran leaders such as DMK president MK Stalin and former Karnataka chief ministers Siddaramaiah and HD Kumaraswamy came down heavily on the home minister for his approach of uniting India with one language.
AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi asserted that Hindi is not the mother tongue of every Indian and asked him to appreciate the country’s diversity. He also slammed Shah for imposing one language on the country. Several pro-Kannada organisations, including Karnataka Ranadheera Pade, also held protest marches in Bengaluru against Hindi Diwas.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi should issue clarification on Amit shah's statement. Else, DMK will prepare itself for another language protest. Is it India or Hindi-a? India stands for unity in diversity. The BJP-led government is trying to collapse this and go against it. Home Minister should withdraw his statement,” said Stalin.
“We have always stood against the imposition of Hindi and have raised our voices against the same in cases of exams like the railways, postal departments. We strongly condemn home minister's statement,” Stalin said. Karnataka Congress also slammed Shah for his statement and accused the RSS of trying to push its “sinister hidden agenda” to divide people. Former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah hit out at Amit Shah, terming the use of Hindi as “forced Imposition”. “Languages are the basics of knowledge, and we need to cultivate them with love, not through pressure. Our opposition is not about the language of Hindi, but about its forced imposition. My opposition to the celebration of the Hindi Day,” he said in a tweet.
