New Delhi, March 21: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said that after December, he will correspond with the Chief Ministers, MPs, ministers, and citizens of every state in their native language.
He stated that this would serve as a strong reply to those who use language to cover up their corruption. “Every language of India is a jewel of our culture,” he added. Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, HM Shah said: “I want to say today from this platform, we have been telling the Tamil Nadu government for two years that you don’t have the courage to translate engineering and medical studies into Tamil.
Your financial interests are involved in this. However, when our government comes, we will ensure that medical and engineering courses in Tamil Nadu are taught in Tamil.” The Home Minister further explained that critics may accuse the government of being against the languages of South India, but “How can we be against any state’s language? We come from the same region – I am from Gujarat.”
He also mentioned that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who is from Tamil Nadu, would never support opposition to the Tamil language. Amit Shah highlighted the government’s work in promoting regional languages by translating important courses like engineering and medical education into local languages.
He challenged those who spread negativity about languages, saying: “You may prefer a language from thousands of km away, but why are you averse to Indian languages?” He stressed that a Tamil-speaking child can work in Gujarat, Delhi, or Kashmir, emphasising national unity over divisive language politics. The Home Minister slammed those who use language as a tool for hiding corruption.
“We will expose these issues, we will go village by village,” he said. This statement came in response to the Tamil Nadu government’s allegations that the Centre was imposing Hindi on the state. During his speech in the Rajya Sabha, HM Shah spoke about the Language Department under his ministry, which works to promote the use of Indian languages.
He stated that efforts were being made to promote Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali, Assamese, and all regional languages. HM Shah further asserted that Hindi is the “sister” of all Indian languages, asserting that Hindi strengthens every Indian language, and no language competes with Hindi. He mentioned that his government had sent three reports on official languages to the President, underlining the government’s commitment to the development of all Indian languages.
The Home Minister also pointed out that the Padma Awards had been democratised, with individuals from ordinary backgrounds, who have spent their lives contributing to small but significant changes in society, now receiving these prestigious awards.
IANS