Shah Says Hindi Should Serve as a Link Language in Maharashtra’s Multilingual Society

MUMBAI, Sep 14: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said Maharashtra represents one of India’s most multilingual cultures and stressed that Hindi should serve as a medium of communication and connection among the country’s diverse languages rather than compete with them.

Addressing the 6th All India Rajbhasha Sammelan at Vashi in Navi Mumbai on the occasion of Hindi Diwas, Shah said India’s languages may have different expressions and voices, but the national sentiment must remain united.

He called for political differences to be kept aside while promoting Indian languages and said a child develops a deeper understanding of the country through his or her mother tongue.

Shah connected the promotion of Indian languages with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to free India from what he described as a “mindset of slavery”. He said cultural nationalism involves creating greater awareness about the country’s history, heritage and traditions.

Referring to freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Shah said he understood the importance of cultural mobilisation during the freedom struggle. Tilak’s initiatives to popularise public Ganesh celebrations and commemorate Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s birth anniversary eventually helped spread patriotic sentiment beyond Maharashtra, he said.

The Home Minister highlighted the expansion of Hindi Shabd Sindhu, saying the initiative, which started with around 51,000 words, has now expanded to nearly eight lakh words. He expressed confidence that it would become the world’s largest dictionary by 2029.

More than 50,000 words from various Indian regional languages have been incorporated into the dictionary, Shah said. Contributions from Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali and Odia, among other languages, have helped address gaps in Hindi vocabulary and make the language more adaptable.

Shah described Maharashtra as a state where several languages have developed and flourished, including Marathi, Konkani, Gujarati, Sindhi, Hindi, Kannada and Warli. He also recalled that Marathi received classical-language status from the Centre in 2024.

Citing social reformer Vinoba Bhave, Shah said knowledge of Hindi helped him take the message of the Bhoodan-Gramdan movement to people across the country. The minister also recalled his own experience, saying his familiarity with Hindi helped him work in different parts of India after being given responsibilities at the national level in his party.

The Centre, Shah said, is working towards making Indian languages more widely used in governance, science and other fields. He said the objective is not only to promote their use but also to enrich them through literature and other knowledge resources.

He invited elected representatives to communicate with the Centre in Marathi, saying translation arrangements were available to facilitate such communication.

Shah also referred to several language-related initiatives launched or developed by the government. These include the multilingual translation tool Bharati, the Bharatiya Bhasha Anubhag, and AI-enabled Kanthasth 2.0, which has been made available to foreign learners with a database containing more than five crore sentences.

Leela Rajbhasha and Leela Pravah were also highlighted as resources aimed at supporting language learning and usage.

On education, Shah said candidates can take examinations such as the IAS and IPS in their mother tongue, while JEE, NEET and undergraduate examinations are being conducted in 13 languages.

He said more than five lakh Central government employees have received language training and stressed that the use of Indian languages should expand across public administration and education.

Shah said the National Education Policy has placed emphasis on education through the mother tongue and learning another Indian language. He criticised those opposing the provision encouraging students to learn an additional Indian language, saying greater familiarity with Indian languages would strengthen national understanding.

The minister also spoke about the work of the Rajbhasha Committee, saying nine volumes have so far been prepared and five more are expected to be dedicated during the tenure of the Modi government.

He noted that the Rajbhasha Sammelan has been taken to different states since 2019 rather than being confined to the national capital.

Several publications and language resources were released at the event, including a special issue of Rajbhasha Bharati dedicated to Vande Mataram and Vande Mataram Ke 150 Adhyay. The digital Hindi Shabd Sindhu resource and training programmes in Hindi typing and shorthand were also launched. Rajbhasha Kirti and Rajbhasha Gaurav awards were presented during the conference.

Speaking about Vande Mataram, Shah said the national song played an important role in awakening Indian consciousness during the freedom struggle. He described it as more than a song, calling it an expression of cultural nationalism.

Shah said the song’s full recognition took decades to restore, referring to the earlier practice of singing only its first two stanzas at official functions. He credited the Modi government with restoring its full prominence at government events.

Recalling Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s approach to governance, Shah said Swaraj, Swadharma and Swabhasha were closely connected to his vision of self-rule, with Marathi receiving an important place in administration.

He also noted that Prime Minister Modi has regularly used Hindi and other Indian languages while addressing major international forums.

Quoting Rabindranath Tagore, Shah compared Indian culture and literature to a many-petalled lotus, with each regional language representing a petal. He said the country can have numerous languages while retaining a common national sentiment and a unified voice.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar also addressed the gathering.

Fadnavis called for equal respect for all Indian languages and said education in the mother tongue can significantly improve learning outcomes as well as administrative effectiveness.

Shinde described Marathi and Hindi as sister languages that share the Devanagari script and advocated greater use of Indian languages in areas such as law, science and technology.

Pawar stressed the need to simplify administrative language so that government communication remains clear and accessible to citizens.