As the debate over Hindi as national language explodes, Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju on Monday posted an old video of Congress party from the Hindi Diwas celebration in 2010. In the video, the then finance minister P Chidambaram urges all to help in making Hindi a national language. He also thanks the vice president for attending the Hindi Diwas celebration. Rijiju wrote that now the Congress must tell all those opposing Hindi as national language about their stand. Below is the video:

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Shah's Hindi unifier pitch

Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday pitched for Hindi as a common language for the country, reigniting the debate on the issue as southern parties said they will oppose any attempt to "impose" the language. The Congress too cautioned against stirring up "emotive" issues "settled" by India's Constitution-makers after Shah, at an event on Hindi Divas, said that while diversity in languages is India's strength, a national language is needed so that foreign languages and cultures do not overpower the country's own. "I want to appeal to people to promote their native languages but also use Hindi to make the dream of Bapu (Mahatma Gandhi) and Sardar (Vallabhbhai) Patel of one language come true," Shah also tweeted.

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Stalin and others slam Shah on 'Hindi unifier' remark

The DMK president M K Stalin on Sunday accused the Centre of "autocratic imposition of Hindi" and underscored the need for unity in opposition ranks to take forward protest against the government on such issues. Addressing an MDMK party event chaired by its leader Vaiko here, Stalin said Tamil was sidelined in the competitive examination conducted by the railways and postal department. After Home Minister's pitch for Hindi as a common link language, the DMK chief had Saturday said that such a view was against national integrity and demanded that it be taken back. "We have been compelled to go the protest mode every day to get our rights;" he said and sarcastically added, "even if we snooze they (the Centre) will thrust Hindi and ease out Tamil if he went tired." Addressing the MDMK's 111th birth anniversary celebrations of Dravidian ideologue C N Annadurai, he said since 1938, Tamil Nadu had been protesting against Hindi imposition and several such agitations continued through the years including those held in 1949 and 1953.

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Congress questions the rationale

Former External Affairs Minister and senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid also raised his voice against Amit Shah's contention that Hindi was the only unifying language of the country. Khurshid stated that India does not only have one language. He further observed that the diversity of languages had always been celebrated. He added that India had never seen any division on the issue of language so far. his, according to Khurshid, could change if the Centre decided to crush all other languages and impose only one language in Hindi. He questioned the rationale behind Shah's remarks.

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