On the occasion of Hindi Diwas, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday stressed on the need to have a unifying language that becomes a mark of India's identity in the world and keeps "foreign languages" from finding a place in the country.
"Though I believe that the diversity of languages and dialects is one of the biggest strengths of India, there is a need for our country to have one language, so that foreign languages don't find a place. This is why our freedom fighters envisioned Hindi as 'Raj bhasha'," Shah said in his address at a Hindi Diwas programme.
Shah said that any nation that abandons its language cannot preserve its culture and consequently loses its existence.
"On the occasion of Hindi Diwas, we should introspect. There are many countries in this world whose languages have become extinct. The country that abandons its language loses its existence too. The country that loses its language can't preserve its culture," he said.
"We need to understand that the richness of Indian languages cannot be compared with any foreign languages," he added.
The Home Minister appealed the citizens to use their mother tongue more so as to preserve its existence. "A language stays alive only when the community of its speakers take pride in it, promote it, and encourage the young generation to use it.
India has two official languages - Hindi and English, and 22 scheduled languages. The country does not have any national language, a fact which has been a subject of much debate since independence.
Earlier in the day, Shah, in a tweet, had asked people to use Hindi more to realise the dreams of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
"On the occasion of Hindi Day, I appeal to all citizens to use their mother tongue and Hindi more to realise the dreams of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel," Shah said in a tweet.
( With inputs from ANI )