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Indian Languages Section: Amit Shah's Push to Shift Administrative Power Away From 'Influence of Foreign Languages'

Union Home Minister Amit Shah says the new section aims to 바카라œfree administration바카라 from foreign language dependence and promote linguistic parity

Union Home Minister Amit Shah during the press conference in Raipur
Union Home Minister Amit Shah Photo: PTI
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In a push to decentralise language power in government institutions, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday inaugurated the Bharatiya Bhasha Anubhag (BBA), or Indian Languages Section, an initiative aimed at institutionalising the use of Indian languages across administrative correspondence and policymaking.

Speaking at the launch in New Delhi, Shah framed the move as both cultural and political, saying, 바카라œOnly by strengthening all the local languages of the country, we can take India to its eternal glorious position.바카라 He added, 바카라œOur potential can be fully exploited only when our processes of thinking, analysis and decision-making are in our mother tongue.바카라

Positioned under the Ministry of Home Affairs바카라™ Department of Official Language, the BBA is designed to act as a structured platform that reflects the nation바카라™s linguistic plurality. 바카라œEvery language of ours is completely connected with other languages, and the development of all languages is not possible without each other,바카라 Shah said, drawing a metaphor: 바카라œAll our languages are like rivers [that] combine together to form the Ganga of Indian culture.바카라

The Home Minister described Indian languages as 바카라œthe soul of the country바카라™s culture,바카라 and asserted that the BBA marks a turning point. 바카라œThe Indian Languages Section will prove to be a milestone in the direction of freeing the administration from the influence of foreign languages,바카라 he said.

Echoing this intent, Anshuli Arya, Secretary of the Official Languages Division, cited existing limitations in the Official Languages Rules, 1976. The rules designate English for all communication from the Centre to Region C states, such as Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka. 바카라œPresently, we deal in English and Hindi under OL Rules 1976. If we have to send a letter to C States, then it will be in English,바카라 Arya said in a statement issued at a press conference last year.

바카라œThe C States feel that their own language is not able to come to the centre stage,바카라 she added. Arya explained that the BBA aims to close this gap through 바카라œuniversal translation,바카라 making use of technology developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC). 바카라œIf a letter written in Tamil by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has to be replied [to] by the Minister, it will be replied in Tamil.바카라

Shah also underlined the importance of using technology without compromising linguistic nuances. 바카라œTechnology should be used without reducing the spirit, richness and sensitivities of all languages,바카라 he said. In a pointed remark, he concluded, 바카라œWe will definitely win the battle against imposition of English upon us.바카라

With the formal launch of BBA, the Department of Official Language has, according to Shah, become a 바카라œcomplete entity.바카라 Whether this administrative consolidation translates into functional linguistic federalism remains to be seen, especially as language continues to remain a deeply politicised terrain in Indian public life.

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