Home minister Amit Shah on Saturday said a national language is needed and Hindi is the “heart and soul of our freedom struggle”, drawing sharp reactions from opposition parties who said Hindi cannot be forced on people and that the three language formula should not be tinkered with.

“Unity and diversity is the strength of our nation but a national language is needed so that foreign languages do not overpower our own,” Shah said, speaking at a “Rajbhasha” award ceremony on Hindi Day, 2019. “Let us make Hindi the most widely used language in the world,” the BJP president said, even as he clarified that “Hindi is the language of coexistence and its growth will never be at the cost of any language”.

Home minister Amit Shah on Saturday said a national language is needed and Hindi is the “heart and soul of our freedom struggle”, drawing sharp reactions from opposition parties who said Hindi cannot be forced on people and that the three language formula should not be tinkered with.

“Unity and diversity is the strength of our nation but a national language is needed so that foreign languages do not overpower our own,” Shah said, speaking at a “Rajbhasha” award ceremony on Hindi Day, 2019. “Let us make Hindi the most widely used language in the world,” the BJP president said, even as he clarified that “Hindi is the language of coexistence and its growth will never be at the cost of any language”.