Hindi Diwas: Vignaharta will pave way for Indian languages, says Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah marked Hindi Diwas in Mumbai, linking it to Ganesh Utsav. He expressed hope that 'Vignaharta' will foster Indian languages and highlighted the NEP's role in promoting mother tongue for 'Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat'.

Shah links Hindi Diwas, Ganesh Utsav for language development

Extending his best wishes to the language enthusiasts of the country, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said that the Hindi Diwas this year has coincided with the start of Ganesh Utsav and expressed confidence that 'Vignaharta' will pave the way for the development of Indian languages and destroy any obstacle that comes in their path. The Home Minister also paid his respects to the multilingual culture of Maharashtra and noted that the New Education Policy has made learning the mother tongue compulsory in primary education.

Amit Shah inaugurated the Hindi Diwas celebrations and the Sixth All India Rajbhasha Sammelan at the CIDCO Exhibition Centre in Navi Mumbai. Addressing a public meeting, he noted that the Ganesh festival in Maharashtra was initiated by Bal Gangadhar Tilak. He said Lokmanya Tilak understood that awakening within the creation, culture, and history of this country could only be brought about through cultural nationalism. “That's why he started the trend of celebrating Ganesh Utsav and the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj," Amit Shah said.

“I want to extend my best wishes to the language enthusiasts of the country on the occasion of Hindi Diwas. Today marks the start of the Ganesh Utsav, and Ganpati Bappa has arrived. Certainly, it is an auspicious confluence that today is Hindi Day and also the arrival of Lord Ganesha. I believe that 'Vignaharta' will pave the way for the development of Indian languages , and 'Vignaharta Lord Shri Ganesha' will also destroy any obstacle that comes in the way of the development of Indian languages. I have great faith in this," he added.

'Vande Mataram laid foundation for cultural nationalism'

The Home Minister said that Vande Mataram isn't just any song, it was an attempt by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay to awaken the Indian consciousness during the period of slavery. Amit Shah referred to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, passed in the monsoon session of Parliament, which amends the Act of 1971 to bring Vande Mataram, honoured as the National Song, within the ambit of Section 3 of The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971. He also referred to the decision for full rendition of Vande Mataram at the conclusion of the Parliament session.

"Bankim Chandra not only awakened the zeal for freedom and the intense desire to achieve independence, but also laid the foundation for India's cultural nationalism... That Vande Mataram was shattered into pieces. Even after independence, the country's Parliament has been struggling to fully accept it for 70-80 years. PM Modi is the only Prime Minister who has once again sung Vande Mataram in its full glory at a government function,” he said.

“Today, on the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram, and this Hindi language program on the land of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj will definitely take both forward in the days to come. The way he gave importance to the journey of the official language, the journey of the Indian language, will continue in the days to come," he added.

On Maharashtra's multilingualism and Hindi as a link language

Amit Shah recalled that Modi government had given Marathi the status of a classical language. “I want to pay my respects to the multilingual culture of Maharashtra. Marathi is certainly respected here, and it should be. It was our PM Modi who granted Marathi the status of a classical language. However, when you come to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's land, it has flourished, been respected, and accepted along with many other languages, including Konkani, Gujarati, Sindhi, Hindi, and Kannada... Maharashtra is the largest multilingual state..."

He adds, "...I also come from Gujarat. Hindi is not spoken there; Gujarati is spoken. But when my party entrusted me with the responsibility of working at the national level, I had no difficulty working across the country because I both understood and spoke Hindi,” he said.

Tribute to Veer Savarkar's linguistic contributions

The Home Minister also paid tributes to Veer Savarkar and said he was among the most learned linguists of his time. “He (Savarkar) coined many words that weren't available in our Indian languages, and all of them were readily available in Marathi, the official language, and all the languages of the country... Today I want to tell you that we have enriched every language in India and created the word Sindhu Shabdkosh (dictionary) for the prosperity of the official language. I'll explain more about this later. But by adopting all the words that Veer Savarkar had modified and created in the Hindi dictionary, the official language has honoured Savarkar in a way, and our Constitution makers have done it thoughtfully," Amit Shah said.

NEP's role in 'Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat'

The Home Minister said that learning Indian languages contributes to the goal of 'Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat'. “…The biggest achievement of PM Modi is his new education policy, where he has made learning the mother tongue compulsory in primary education. A child cannot grow up to be a big person without learning his mother tongue... Only after learning one language can a child progress... Along with this, PM Modi also made it compulsory to learn another Indian language. Those who are opposing this don't realize how big a mistake they are making,” he said.

“Learning another Indian language means that the child automatically connects with the goal of 'Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat' ('One India, Best India'). By learning his mother tongue and another language, he will automatically connect with India, free from all narrow-mindedness, and become a true soldier of India," he added.

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