All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) President Asaduddin Owaisi slammed Union Home Minister Amit Shah stating that the idea of India was much bigger than the Hindi language, Hindu religion, and the ideology of Hindutva. Owaisi was responding to Shah’s remarks on the occasion of Hindi Day. Owaisi asserted that Hindi was not the mother tongue of every Indian. He called upon Shah to appreciate the diversity and beauty of all the languages spoken in India. Citing Article 29 of the Indian Constitution, he observed that every Indian had the right to a distinct language, script, and culture.  

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'Hindi language is India's unifier'

Hindi Diwas is celebrated on September 14 every year to mark the importance of the day when the Constituent Assembly adopted Hindi as the official language of India. On Saturday, the Union Home Minister opined on the microblogging website Twitter that it was necessary for every country to have one language which could represent its identity globally. While he admitted that many languages were spoken in India, he emphasised that Hindi was the only language that unified the country. Shah also mentioned that Hindi was spoken by more people than any other language. Moreover, he appealed to people to further the usage of their respective mother tongue and also speak in Hindi to fulfill the dream of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. 

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'Need to introspect'

Later, addressing the Hindi Diwas celebration at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi today, Shah contended that languages spoken in many countries of the world had become extinct. He maintained that a country that let go off its language, would also end up losing its culture as well as existence. Shah reiterated that diversity of languages and dialects was the strength of India. However, he put forth the need for the country to have one language to ensure that foreign languages did not dominate. The Union Home Minister also reminded the audience that India's freedom fighters had envisioned Hindi as the National Language. While English and Hindi have been designated as 'Official Languages' of the country, India does not have any 'National Language' as of now. 

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