Indian Languages Must Grow Together: HM Amit Shah
Home Minister highlights Hindi’s role as a link language and calls for greater promotion of all Indian languages
- Amit Shah addressed Hindi Diwas 2026 and the 6th All India Official Language Conference in Mumbai.
- He said ‘Hindi Shabd-Sindhu’ has grown to 8 lakh words with over 50,000 words from local languages.
- Shah said ‘Kanthasth 2.0’ now has a database of more than five crore sentences.
- He conferred Rajbhasha Kirti and Rajbhasha Gaurav Awards at the event.
GG News Bureau
Mumbai, 14th Sept: Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah on Monday addressed Hindi Diwas 2026 and the 6th All India Official Language Conference in Mumbai as the Chief Guest, stressing the importance of promoting Hindi alongside all Indian languages.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar, Union Ministers of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai and Bandi Sanjay Kumar, and Secretary, Department of Official Language, Anshuli Arya were among those present.
Shah said Hindi serves as an important link among India’s diverse linguistic communities. Referring to his own Gujarati background, he said he had never faced difficulty working at the national level because of his ability to communicate in Hindi.
He emphasised the importance of mother-tongue education, saying children can understand their country, culture and traditions better through their mother tongue. He said learning another Indian language alongside one’s mother tongue can further strengthen the spirit of ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’.
Highlighting initiatives of the Department of Official Language, Shah said ‘Hindi Shabd-Sindhu’, which began with 51,000 words, has now expanded to around 8 lakh words. More than 50,000 words from local Indian languages have been incorporated to make Hindi more flexible and inclusive. He expressed confidence that the dictionary would become the world’s largest by 2029.
Shah also highlighted the AI-based ‘Kanthasth 2.0’ platform, which has a database of more than five crore sentences and has been opened to foreign users. He said LILA Rajbhasha and LILA Pravah, based on artificial intelligence, have also produced encouraging results.
He said the government is working to make Indian languages languages of governance and science, enrich literature and increase interconnectivity among languages. He noted that examinations such as JEE and NEET, along with undergraduate entrance examinations, are now conducted in 13 languages.
Shah said four volumes of the Official Language Committee’s reports have been submitted to the President since 2019, while the fifth volume is ready. He also said more than five lakh Government of India employees have been trained in the Official Language.
The Home Minister urged those seeking to create disputes between languages to recognise the importance of India’s linguistic diversity. He said, “There is no objection to having many languages. The sentiment must remain Indian. There may be many dialects, but India’s voice must remain one.”
During the programme, Shah also conferred the Rajbhasha Kirti and Rajbhasha Gaurav Awards. He released special commemorative editions of Rajbhasha Bharati on ‘Shiv Anadi Hain, Anant Hain’, ‘Bharatiya Gyan Tantra: Srot Aur Swaroop’, ‘Andheron Se Ujalon Tak’ and ‘Vande Mataram’, along with the publication ‘150 Chapters of Vande Mataram’.
