New Delhi [India], June 26 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated on Thursday that language was previously used as a means to divide India, adding that the Centre would ensure that Indian languages become a powerful medium to unite the country.
"In the last few decades, language was used as a means to divide India. They could not break it, but efforts were made," Shah said while speaking at the Golden Jubilee celebration of the Official Language Department in Delhi.
"We will ensure that our languages become a powerful medium to unite India. For this, the Official Language Department will work. I believe that the foundation that is being laid under the leadership of Modi ji will create a great India in 2047, and on the way to creating a great India, we will develop our Indian languages, make them rich, increase their utility," he added.
Shah advocated for the greater use of Indian languages in governmental communications.
"Indian languages should be used as much as possible in government work, not only in the central government but also in the state government. For this, we will also contact the states, try to convince and persuade them," he said.
"JEE, NEET, CUET are now being taken in 13 languages. Earlier, you could only apply for the constable recruitment of CAPF in English or Hindi. We made it flexible and allowed the exam in 13 languages, and today I am happy to say that 95% of the candidates are giving the constable exam in their mother tongue. This tells how bright the future of Indian languages is in the coming days," he added.
He said that languages were not just a medium of communication, but the soul of the nation, further stating that it was necessary to keep languages alive and enrich them.
"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 said that Hindi was a friend of all the Indian languages, further stating that Hindi and Indian languages together could play an important role in enhancing the nation's self-esteem.
"I believe from my heart that Hindi cannot be the enemy of any Indian language. Hindi is a friend of all Indian languages , and Hindi and Indian languages together can take our self-esteem program to its ultimate goal. 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," he stated.
"We should get rid of the mentality of slavery. And until a person takes pride in his language, does not express himself in his language, we cannot be free from the mentality of slavery..." he added.