India cannot progress without Hindi, says Naidu

In the event of anti-Hindi backlash being witnessed across the country, Union Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday said Hindi is the national language of India and it is impossible to progress without the language.

"Hindi is our national language and it is impossible for India to progress without Hindi. It is unfortunate that everyone is after English medium; I am against Britishers but not their language. We should learn all language, but by learning English our mindset is also changing, this is wrong , this is against the interest of the nation ," Naidu said.

He further said that it was necessary for people to learn their mother languages as the dominance of English medium have shadowed their cultural heritage.

"Since majority of the population speaks Hindi, it is necessity to learn Hindi, but before that we need to learn our mother language," he said.

"It is unfortunate that everyone is bent upon learning English because it guarantees employment. Hence I want the nation to discuss, promote and learn our mother languages more and at the same time learn Hindi as well," he added.

The minister's comment comes in the backdrop of apprehensions being expressed by the people, especially in the southern states over the usage of Hindi language.

Parties like Karnataka's Janata Dal (Secular) and Tamil Nadu's Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham (DMK) have criticised the Centre for 'imposing' Hindi language in their states.

DMK acting president M. K, Stalin threatened to begin an anti-Hindi agitation after milestones marked in Hindi were seen on Tamil Nadu highways.

In Bengaluru, protests were taking place over Hindi being used as a language in the Metro train sign boards.

Earlier this year, the Centre notified a recommendation of the parliamentary panel after President Pranab Mukherjee gave his nod to the suggestion

The parliamentary panel had recommended the use of Hindi by parliamentarians and ministers. The recommendation had been sent to the President in June, 2011.