Responding to Home Minister Amit Shah's comment that Indian people of different states should communicate with each other in Hindi, and not English, Telangana Minister KT Rama Rao has taken to social media and stated that “Language chauvinism/hegemony will boomerang”.
In his tweet, KTR said, “Unity in diversity is our strength dear @AmitShah Ji. India is a union of states & a true ‘Vasudhaika Kutumbam’. Why don’t we let people of our great nation decide what to eat, what to wear, who to pray to and what language to speak! Language chauvinism/hegemony will boomerang.”
In a second tweet on the thread, he said, “I am an Indian first, a proud Telugu & Telanganaite next. Can speak in my mother tongue Telugu, English, Hindi & a little bit of Urdu too. To impose Hindi & diss English will be a great disservice to the youngsters of this nation who have global aspirations. #stopHindiImposition”.
Unity in diversity is our strength dear @AmitShah Ji. India is a union of states & a true ‘Vasudhaika Kutumbam’
— KTR (@KTRTRS) April 9, 2022
Why don’t we let people of our great nation decide what to eat, what to wear, who to pray to and what language to speak!
Language chauvinism/hegemony will boomerang pic.twitter.com/AwMae3Clra
Presiding over the 37th meeting of the Parliamentary Official Language Committee in New Delhi, Shah had said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided that the medium of running the government is the official language and this will definitely increase the importance of Hindi, according to a statement issued by the Union Home Ministry. He informed the members that 70% of the agenda of the Cabinet is prepared in Hindi.
Shah also said that the time has come to make the official language Hindi an important part of the unity of the country, adding that Hindi should be accepted as an alternative to English and not to local languages.
Earlier on Friday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, whose DMK has been at the forefront of anti-Hindi agitations which often turned violent, said Shah's thrust on Hindi went against India's 'integrity and pluralism'. Reacting to Shah's April 7 statement, Stalin said it will wreck the nation's integrity.
“Union Home Minister @AmitShah saying ‘Use Hindi instead of English' is an attack on the unity of India. The BJP leadership is continuously working to destroy India’s diversityIs @AmitShah thinking that 'Hindi state' is enough but not Indian states? One language for all does not ensure unity. Uniformity also does not create unity. You are repeating the same mistake. But you will not succeed in it," he said in a tweet.
Asserting that Hindi is not India's national language, former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah accused the BJP of trying to unleash its agenda of "cultural terrorism" against non-Hindi speaking states. "As a Kannadiga, I take strong offence to @HMOIndia @AmitShah's comment on Official language & medium of communication. Hindi is not our National Language & we will never let it to be," Siddaramaiah tweeted with the tagline "#IndiaAgainstHindiImposition".
Asserting that linguistic diversity is the essence of India, the Congress leader said pluralism is what has held the nation together. "Imposing Hindi is a sign of coercive federalism rather than cooperative federalism. Myopic view of BJP regarding our languages needs to be corrected and their opinions are derived from pseudo-nationalists like Savarkar," he said.
(With PTI inputs)