Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said that the Hindi language is not competing with any other regional languages and it complements other regional languages.Speaking at a function held here on the Hindi Diwas, he said, "Hindi is the Sakhi (friend) of all Indian languages and all the regional languages must be promoted and encouraged".He also emphasised that Hindi was not competing with any regional language. "Hindi has only complemented and strengthened other regional languages. It has never competed with any local language.Pushing for greater use of Hindi by officials and the youths to understand India's culture and value systems which remained protected primarily because of the language, Shah further said that from 2014 onwards, more and more Members of the Parliament have been speaking in their own regional languages.
Referring to PM Modi's call for Atmanirbhar (Self -reliant) Bharat, the Home Minister also said that the country needs to be atmanirbhar even with languages and urged the people of the country to take a pledge to use Hindi along with their mother tongue."Being Atmanirbhar is not just about the commercial production of goods within the country, we need to be atmanirbhar even with languages and only then our imagination of Atmanirbhar India will be fulfilled."Addressing the gathering Shah also said that one should not hesitate speaking in their own language, it was not a matter of embarrassment. Many of our freedom fighters including Gandhi ji advocated to promote Hindi. "If the Prime Minister can speak Hindi on international forums, what are we embarrassed about? Gone are the days when speaking in Hindi was a matter of embarrassment," he said.The Home Minister also distributed awards and prizes to the various persons, organizations for promoting Hindi and Rajbhasha.