Union Home Minister Amit Shah has come under sharp attack from the Opposition over his remarks that the English speakers in India would “feel ashamed soon”, with Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar accusing him of pushing the “RSS-BJP’s cultural majoritarianism”.
Kumar, in a release issued here on Friday, said it was a step towards imposition of Hindi language over all the people of India. “It’s a deliberate attempt to stigmatise India’s linguistic diversity and push the RSS-BJP’s cultural majoritarianism,” he said.
English, the CPI Rajya Sabha MP said, functions as India’s link language, bridging regions and enabling access to education, employment and opportunities available globally.
“It’s an attack on the aspirations of the people, especially the youth and marginalised,” he said, adding that Shah’s move is not aimed to uplift the Indian languages, it is a “shallow move to replace English with Hindi, in line with the RSS’ project of linguistic and cultural domination”.
“It shows utter disregard for the multilingual, federal character of India and the constitutional principle of equality among all languages. The BJP does not seek unity in diversity, but uniformity through imposition,” he added.
The CPI MP further said, “This is not just a swipe at English, it is an insult to Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali, Telugu, and every language that does not conform to the Sangh’s Hindi-Hindu-Hindustan vision”.
Language is a means of empowerment, and not a tool for ideological control, he said in the statement, adding that the CPI would firmly resist all such attempts by the BJP.
Earlier in the day, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also slammed the Union Minister for his remarks on the English language.
He said the BJP and RSS want to deny English education to India’s poor children.
“English is not a barrier, but a bridge. English is not shameful, but power. English is not a chain – it’s a tool to break chains… In today’s world, English is as necessary as your mother tongue – because it will provide employment, boost confidence,” the Congress leader said in a social media post written in Hindi.
He also emphasized the importance of English language education in enabling India’s children to compete globally and secure better opportunities.
The Congress leader also underlined the need to preserve and promote India’s diverse languages and cultures.
The RSS believes in “Indianizing” the education system, which includes emphasizing the use of Indian languages in schools and colleges. However, this doesn’t equate to a complete rejection of English, as they also recognize the importance of English for global communication and access to knowledge, he said.
On Thursday, the Union home minister, while addressing a book launch function, had said that soon a time would come when those speaking English in the country would “feel ashamed”. “Those who do not speak Indian languages cease to remain fully Indian and that India cannot be understood through “foreign languages”, he had observed.