Wrong to say 'Hindi' confined to particular region: MoS PMO

New Delhi:  It will be a gross error fraught with long term implications if an impression is allowed to perpetuate that Hindi is confined only to a particular religion or region as a medium of communication, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said here on Wednesday.

The truth, on the other hand, is that Hindi is a part of legacy of every such individual who has inherited the legacy of 'Hindustan' irrespective of religion, caste, sect or region, he said.

Some of the best literature and poetry in Hindi, for instance, was written by Muslim poets and writers even though their mother tongue may not have been Hindi, said Singh Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office.

"It would be a gross error fraught with long term implications if an impression is allowed to perpetuate that Hindi is confined only to a particular section of society or religion or region as a medium of communication," he said.

Delivering keynote address as chief guest to commemorate 'Hindi fortnight celebrations' here, the Minister made an emphatic assertion that the growth of India is linked to the growth of Hindi.

"Just as in the next few years, India grows economically as a world power, its equivalent growth on cultural and civilisational scale would be closely proportionate to the extent of growth of Hindi not only as a language but as an important symbol of India's identity," he explained.

It is a strange paradox that living in India and being Indians, we need to observe a 'Hindi fortnight' or a 'Hindi Divas' to remind ourselves about Hindi and its richness, Singh said.

He said, it sounds strange when one thinks that people living in Britain do not have to observe an English language day to remind themselves of the importance of English language or people living in France do not observe a French language day.

"Therefore, the real question that we should ask ourselves is whether we have failed to cultivate in ourselves the esteem of the heritage of Hindi language and the pride of speaking Hindi," he said.

Singh said, he has come across a number of parents who are themselves scholars in Hindi language but prefer to send their children to English schools and take pride in their children communicating in English rather than in Hindi.

"Promotion of Hindi cannot happen merely through symbolic programmes but may, in essence, require re-look into our education pattern.

"In this regard, some of the measures that can be contemplated may include inculcating advantages of knowing Hindi right at the middle or high school level as well as encouraging the use of common man's spoken Hindi instead of language with heavy phrases," he said.