New Delhi, June 21 – Even as Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has said all Indian languages are important, the Congress on Friday attacked the government for directing officials to use Hindi in social media, warning that this will lead to a backlash in non-Hindi speaking states. “There will be a backlash in non-Hindi states, in particular in Tamil Nadu… The government is advised to proceed with caution,” party leader P. Chidambaram told the media.
Chidambaram’s comments come on a day the NDA government’s proposal to give prominence to Hindi in official accounts in social media has met with stiff opposition in Tamil Nadu with Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and even BJP allies joining DMK chief Karunanidhi in slamming the move, voicing fears of “imposition” of the language on non-Hindi speaking sections.
Jayalalithaa fired off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, described the Home Ministry’s proposal as “against the letter and spirit” of the Official Languages Act, 1963,” while pointing out that the “highly sensitive issue” caused “disquiet” to the people of Tamil Nadu “who are very proud of and passionate about their linguistic heritage”.
Use all languages on social media: CPI-M
Meanwhile, the CPI-M on criticised the government decision to use Hindi as the sole medium of communication for government information on social media, IANS adds. A statement from the Communist Party of India-Marxist has said this went “against the principle of linguistic equality and is an injustice to other national languages.
“The government should modify its policy and use along with Hindi other national languages as well as English for communication in social media,” it said.
Home minister moves to assuage fears on ‘imposition of Hindi’:
The BJP-led government has, however, moved to assuage upset feelings over a directive asking central government employees to use Hindi while posting tweets or messages on social media after DMK on Thursday opposed such a move, terming it as the beginning of imposition of Hindi.
Rajnath Singh, in the second tweet he posted on his new ministry handle on Thursday, wrote: “The Home Ministry is of the view that all Indian languages are important. The Ministry is committed to promote all languages of the country.”
In a statement, DMK president M. Karunanidhi had said the official directive to government employees to give preference to the use of Hindi language in social media is contrary to an individual’s wish and is the beginning of imposition of Hindi.
He was referring to a news report that the central government has directed its employees and employees of central undertakings and banks to use Hindi or both Hindi and English on their official web pages in social media like Twitter, blogs, YouTube, Facebook and Google.
Karunanidhi said giving prominence to Hindi alone without treating all the languages listed in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution equally is the first step in making non-Hindi speaking people second class citizens. The DMK chief said people expect Prime Minister Narendra Modi to focus on taking forward the economy and working towards social upliftment.
-INDIA TODAY
