CM Fadnavis Hails PM Modi’s Global Use Of Hindi As A Matter Of Pride
Fadnavis praises Modi’s global use of Hindi.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promotion of Indian languages, saying that hearing him speak Hindi on international platforms fills the country with pride. Fadnavis was speaking at the Hindi Diwas celebration and the 6th All India Official Language Conference in Navi Mumbai, attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Fadnavis highlighted the significance of holding the national conference in Maharashtra and said such events had earlier been treated largely as formal occasions. He credited Amit Shah with making efforts to take the conference to different states. Reflecting on the history of language policy, the Chief Minister also spoke about the use of Hindi for official work during the British period and the subsequent recognition of Hindi and English as official languages.
The Maharashtra Chief Minister said Indian mother tongues and regional languages had received greater recognition in recent years. Referring to the New Education Policy, he stressed the importance of learning one’s mother tongue and said the policy promotes education in local languages alongside other Indian languages. Fadnavis also recalled former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s use of Hindi at the United Nations and referred to writer Munshi Premchand’s contribution to the wider acceptance of conversational Hindi.
Addressing the gathering, Amit Shah emphasised the importance of respecting regional languages and specifically highlighted Marathi. He said Marathi had been granted classical language status under the Narendra Modi government and described Maharashtra as India’s most multilingual state. Shah also referred to freedom fighter and social reformer Vinoba Bhave’s use of Hindi to communicate the Bhoodan and Gramdan movements across different parts of the country.
Shah also linked language preservation with education, reiterating the Centre’s emphasis on foundational learning in a child’s mother tongue under the New Education Policy. He said learning in one’s own language is important for holistic development and highlighted the broader objective of preserving India’s linguistic diversity while encouraging communication across regions.
The Home Minister further referred to the linguistic contributions of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, describing him as a freedom fighter, social reformer and linguist. He said Savarkar built on Lokmanya Tilak’s efforts to strengthen and refine the Marathi language and coined several words that gained acceptance in Marathi and other Indian languages. Shah added that the Ministry of Home Affairs had sought to recognise Savarkar’s linguistic legacy in Hindi through its ‘Shabd Sindhu’ initiative.
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