UP: On Rajbhasha Day in Kashi, Amit Shah invokes Savarkar

VARANASI: Invoking Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, the Hindu nationalist ideologue, activist and writer, here on Saturday to put across his views on Hindi, Union home Minister Amit Shah said he (Savarkar) enriched Hindi by inducting many words in his ‘Hindi Shabdkosh’.
Shah was speaking after inaugurating the two-day Akhil Bharatiya Rajbhasha Sammelan, organised by the Rajbhasha department of the home ministry at the Trade Facilitation Centre, Bada Lalpur.
Citing the example of Savarkar, Shah said, “Agar Veer Savarkar Ji na hote to shayad hum Angrezi shabdon ka hi prayog kar rahe hote (had it not been for Veer Savarkar, we would have been using English words only),” said Shah, adding that very few people know that Savarkar worked a lot for ‘Swabhasha’ and Rajbhasha’.
“He made a Hindi dictionary, and introduced many new words. The time has come to make Hindi flexible for the wide acceptance of people,” Shah added.
Shah said that the country which loses its ‘swabhasha’ (native language), also loses its original thinking and culture. The original thinking can only come from native or the mother tongue, he added.
Shah said that Gandhiji converted the freedom movement into a people’s movement with three pillars: Swaraj, Swadeshi and Swabhasha. “Swaraj was achieved, but Swadeshi and Swabhasha were left behind,” he said, adding that the government has set a target to establish the glory of Swabhasha and Swadeshi in the ‘Amrit Kaal’ (next 25-years of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav) when the country will celebrate its 100th Independence Day.
Shah said that the Central government has given special emphasis to Rajbhasha under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. “One of the main points of the new education policy is the promotion of native languages. The new change that the Prime Minister has made will change the future of India,” he said, adding, “For the first time since independence, the convention of Rajbhasha has been taken out of Delhi and organised in Kashi, which immensely contributed for the enrichment of Hindi.”
“I am a Gujarati and speak in my native language, but I love Hindi more than Gujarati. We need to strengthen our Rajbhasha,” said Shah, adding, “There is no conflict between Hindi (Rajbhasha) and local languages, rather they are complementary to each other.”
Rajbhasha can prosper only when the local languages are protected. It is the responsibility of the Rajbhasha department to promote and protect the local languages, he added.
Shah also made an appeal to all guardians to talk to their children in their own native language. “It does not matter in which medium they are studying, talk to them in native language in your home in order to increase their confidence levels, so that they have no hesitation in speaking their own mother tongue,” Shah said adding that speaking in native language would not only benefit the language, but also benefit the children because original thinking could only result from native language.
“Attempts were made in the past to spark controversies on Hindi language, but now it is over,” said Shah, adding, “There used to be a time when we were afraid, but a new era has started when we would be proud. This transformation of fear to feel pride and honour has been a huge achievement of Narendra Modi’s administration.”
“We have set a goal to promote Rajbhasha and local languages in the fields of education, administration, judicial work, technical work, communication and entertainment,” he said and made an appeal to all to create a conducive atmosphere in the country for this purpose.
The event was also addressed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, minister of state for home affairs Ajay Kumar Mishra and deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha Harivansh Narayan Singh.