The Department of Official Languages, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India organized a Joint Regional Official Language Conference and Prize Distribution Ceremony for Central Government Offices, Banks and Public Sector Undertakings, etc. located in Western and Central Zones at Rabindra Bhawan, Margao Goa on 22 October 2021. Gaya. Minister of State for Home Affairs,Shri Ajay Kumar Mishra was the Chairman of the function and  Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways and Tourism Shriyut Shripad Yesso Naik was the Chief Guest at the function. On this occasion, awards were given to Central Government Offices, Banks and Undertakings for their excellent work in Official Language under various categories by the Chief Guest Shri Shripad Yesso Naik and Minister of State for Home Affairs Shri Ajay Kumar Mishra. Anshuli Arya, Secretary, Department of Official Languages and other senior officers were also present at the programme.

Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Ajay Kumar Mishra said in his address that any language or dialect is not only a means to express  ideas, but it is also  important for building culture, civilization and values of a nation. Hindi has those distinctive cultural values, due to which we are incomparable in the world. Hindi contains the sentiments of crores of Indian people who think in Hindi, speak in Hindi and whose lives are ingrained in Hindi.

Shri Mishra said that in the last many years, Prime Minister and Union Minister for Home Affairs have used Hindi and expanded usage of Hindi and keeping in mind the prevalence of Hindi, Hindi was used to make people aware even about the COVID-19 pandemic. Shri Mishra said that in the initial phase, the people of the country were successful in the fight against COVID-19 with instructions like wearing masks, washing hands and maintaining social distancing. Shri Ajay Mishra also said that earlier people used to feel inferior in speaking Hindi but due to the use of Hindi by the Prime Minister and Union Minister for Home Affairs in the last five to seven years, now people are using Hindi freely.

Shri Ajay Kumar Mishra said that today when we are celebrating the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, it is also time for us to remember the freedom struggle of our country. During the country's freedom struggle, emphasis was laid on Swaraj, Swadeshi and Swabhasha. This was the period when Hindi infused a new consciousness of patriotism and solidarity among our slavery-stricken countrymen. The heroes of the Indian freedom struggle directly linked Hindi with national unity. Acharya Vinoba Bhave, Mahatma Gandhi made the freedom movement a mass movement and the Hindi language had the highest place in it.

   Shri Ajay Kumar Mishra said that the Constitution has entrusted all of us with the responsibility of developing and spreading the Official Language, Hindi. This is possible only with the cooperation and goodwill of all. Voluntary use increases the usage of the language, enriches the language and enhances its nature. According to Article 351 of the Constitution, there is a need to continuously enrich the vocabulary of Hindi by adopting the most used and popular words of regional languages.

Shri Mishra said that we neither believe in terrorism nor in expansionism. The basic mantra of our democracy is 'Sarvajan Hitay' which means welfare of all. Our democracy can flourish only when we reach out to the people about their interests in their own language. The Official Language, Hindi is fulfilling this responsibility at the national level, and there is no doubt about this.

Addressing the program,  Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways and Tourism, Shri Shripad Yesso Naik said that the language of any country is a symbol of its identity. From the Independence movement till date, Hindi has been the most  powerful medium of national integration. Hindi is not only our Official Language but also the language of the common  people. Hindi is a rich, powerful and simple language. Shri Naik said that history is witness that during the freedom movement, Hindi played an important role in awakening the  feeling of patriotism and self-respect among our countrymen by keeping the whole country united and affirmed the concept of 'Unity in Diversity'. During the freedom struggle, the emphasis was on Swaraj, Swadeshi and Swabhasha. It was the national opinion that without Swadeshi and Swabhasha, self-rule would not be meaningful. It was the firm belief of our national leaders that no country can fundamentally define or experience its independence in the absence of its own language. In this context, Mahatma Gandhi had said, 'The freedom movement is not only a question of Swaraj, but also a question of swabhasha'. '

Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways and Tourism said that along with Hindi, a large amount of excellent literature has been created in many other Indian languages. The intellectual and cultural level of a country is known by the level of literature produced there. We are neither short of extraordinary talent nor a wide intellectual readership. There is a demand today that a large number of high quality books on subjects in various fields such as Information Technology, Medical Science, Law, Engineering etc. should be written in Hindi, so that on the one hand Hindi literature can be further promoted and on the other hand students of Hindi  who want to pursue higher education through medium level Hindi books of their subject should be made accessible.

Ms. Anshuli Arya, Secretary, Department of Official Language, in her address said that modern technology has an important role to play in promoting the progressive use of Hindi and therefore many effective means have been provided by the Department of Official Language  to work smoothly in Hindi. In order to make the use of Hindi easier in official work, the Department of Official Language has prepared 'e-Mahashabdkosh Mobile App' and 'e-Saral Hindi Sentence Kosh', apart from other e-tools and applications. She said similarly we have developed memory based translation software 'Kanthasth' with the help of C-DAC, Pune to aid in translation, using which Hindi can be promoted in government work. Smt.  Arya said that inspired by  Prime Minister's call of "Self-reliant India - Be vocal for local", the Department of Official Language is making efforts to make indigenous memory based translation tool "Kanthastha" more popular and expand it in various organizations. Similarly, in addition to English language, the programmes 'Leela Rajbhasha' and 'Leela Pravah', which have been made for self-learning Hindi in 14 other Indian languages, are being widely publicized by the Department of Official Language.

The Secretary, Department of Official Language said that in the past, the Department of Official Language has started some new works in compliance with the official languages policy of the Union based on inspiration, encouragement and goodwill. She said that the Department of Official Language has made available the e-magazine library platform on its website to various central government offices where they upload their In-House magazines. Due to this, there is wide publicity of these magazines, on the other hand these magazines are available to readers at one place.

 

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