Several Opposition leaders on Friday criticised Union Home Minister Amit Shah for saying those who speak English in India will soon feel ashamed.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi remarked that English is “not a barrier, but a bridge”, and said that the language provides employment and boosts people’s self-confidence. He alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party and its ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, did not want poor children to learn English “because they don't want you to ask questions, move ahead, and assert equality”.

Gandhi said that in today’s world, learning English is as important as learning one’s mother tongue.

In a similar vein, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP Kanimozhi told Shah that “the only thing to be ashamed of is imposing your will on the people and trying to destroy the pluralism of India”.

Kerala Education Minister and Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader V Sivankutty remarked that no language was higher or lower, PTI reported.

“Each language has its own importance,” Sivankutty said. “English, as an international language, is an important means of knowledge and communication. It can only help in the progress of the country.”

Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP John Brittas accused the mainstream media of suppressing and underreporting Shah’s statement.

He speculated that this was “likely due to external pressures and direction that came as an afterthought, as the remark could have triggered significant backlash”.

Shah’s remarks

In a video shared by news channels on Thursday, Shah was quoted as saying the creation of a society in which those who speak English in India would feel ashamed was not far away.

“A complete India cannot be imagined with aadhi-adhuri [incomplete] foreign languages, that can only happen with Indianness, with Indian languages,” Shah reportedly said at a book launch event in New Delhi.

He also called Indian languages “jewels of our culture”, adding that without them, “we cease to be Indians”.

The home minister’s comments on Thursday come against the backdrop of several state governments and regional parties accusing the Centre of imposing Hindi through the National Education Policy’s three-language formula.

On Tuesday, the Maharashtra government issued an order making Hindi a “generally” taught third language for students from Class 1 to Class 5 in Marathi and English medium schools. The Opposition in the state has accused the BJP-led government of trying to erase Marathi identity through the move.

Tamil Nadu too has repeatedly opposed the three-language formula in the National Education Policy. The state government said it would not change its decades-old two-language policy of teaching students Tamil and English.

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