'Ek Bharat' possible only by honouring Indian languages: Amit Shah in Thane

Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah said the promotion, respect and development of all Indian languages was the central government's biggest and firmest resolve. He said every regional language was as beautiful as a different petal of the lotus, and that while respecting all these rich languages, Hindi should become the central pearl that creates coordination among them.

Amit Shah was speaking at the CIDCO Exhibition and Convention Centre in Vashi, where the Official Language Department of the Union Home Ministry inaugurated Hindi Diwas 2026 and the sixth All India Official Language Conference amid much enthusiasm.

Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai, MP Naresh Mhaske, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Ajit Pawar were present on the dais on the occasion. Also present were Official Language Department Secretary Anshuli Arya, V.L. Kantha Rao, Joydeep Chattopadhyay, a descendant of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, and Milind Prabhakar Sabnis.

Amit Shah said the central government's decision not to confine the Official Language Conference to the national capital Delhi alone, but to take it to different states of the country, had succeeded, and that this sixth conference was being held in Maharashtra as part of that effort.

He said Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak had given a larger form to Maharashtra's Ganeshotsav and the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, awakening a spirit of cultural nationalism and patriotism in the country. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, along with self-governance, had also given priority to his religion and his language, and had the Rajvyavahar Kosh compiled for the development of Marathi. Shah also said that during the era of colonial rule, sage Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's 'Vande Mataram', written in 'Anandmath', became not merely a song but a national declaration of the freedom struggle. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had revived the tradition of singing 'Vande Mataram' in full at government events, and had also honoured Maharashtra's historic identity by granting Marathi the status of a classical language.

Explaining the importance of the mother tongue, the home minister said the mother tongue is the root of a person's thought process and keeps a person connected to their culture, tradition and values. He said this was why the National Education Policy lays emphasis on education in the mother tongue at the primary level. He also said that to strengthen ties with the nation, every student should learn at least one more Indian language.

Amit Shah said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Official Language Department had begun the effective use of technology, and more than five lakh employees of the Government of India had already been given Hindi training. The artificial intelligence-based 'Kanthastha 2.0' system is now available with more than five crore sentences, and the pace of language learning has also increased through 'Leela Rajbhasha' and 'Leela Pravah'. He also said that the 'Hindi Shabdasindhu' dictionary, which started with 51,000 words, has now grown to reach eight lakh words, and he was fully confident that it would become the world's largest dictionary by 2029.