KRV observes Black Day on 14 September as nation marks Hindi Diwas

“Hindi is not a national language. Hindi is not an official language. In Dakshin Bharath (South India), Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Marathi in Maharashtra are the official language used by the state governments,” Gowda told South First.

“Hindi is just one of the 22 languages mentioned in our Constitution, and cannot have a special status and supremacy over other languages,” he added.

“We have also written to the chief minister through senior JD(S) leaders to not approve Hindi above all South Indian languages at the helm of politics,” said Gowda.

At the Freedom Park on Wednesday, the KRV activists shouted slogans extolling Karnataka and the Kannada language, along with the state’s customs, traditions, and culture. They also shouted slogans claiming Hindi was an orphaned language.

Hindi Diwas issue raised in Assembly

Even in the Assembly session, JD(S) leaders took objection to the celebration of Hindi Diwas.

Defending Hindi Diwas, the current BJP national general secretary CT Ravi said that the JD(S) was politicising the issue when a national language was being celebrated.

“Was Amit Shah present in 1949 to observe Hindi Diwas when Hindi was declared the official communication medium at the government level? Did Amit Shah make the rule? No. In 1996, when HD Devegowda was the prime minister, did we not celebrate Hindi Diwas?” Ravi asked.

“When Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Prasad formed an alliance with the JD(S) and when they came down to address a JD(S) congregation, did they speak in Kannada? No, they spoke in Hindi. Now the same JD(S) has problems with Hindi,” he thundered.

“When there was no politics in 1949, why is politics coming in at this point? If the BJP comes into power, everyone plays politics with such issues. We have expressed ourselves clearly, that we will give equal respect to and have equally high regard for all Indian languages,” Ravi added.

Asked about the BJP’s one-nation one-language motto, the minister quickly responded: “One nation, one emotion. All languages must be learnt, and we must respect all Indian languages.”

Congress leaders weigh in

Congress leader Priyank Kharge said: “We are a country of diversity. So just like how we respect Hindi, we expect people at the Centre also to respect classical languages that are prevalent here, whether it is Kannada, Telugu, or Tamil. Just as Hindi is important to them, Kannada is important to us.”

He added: “We are not against Hindi, but at the same time show us the same respect that we show other languages. Why is the onus of saving a language on us, and why are you forcing your language on us? We respect it, we like it, and we use it, but not at the cost of our rich culture and heritage.”

Congress leader Saleem Ahmed said “The Central government is trying to impose Hindi on us. Amit Shah has also made some statements on it. More responsibilities are on the state government to strengthen the local languages, especially our language Kannada.”

He added: “Hindi is not the national language. In Karnataka, our language is Kannada. We are not against any languages, but preference should be given to the state language.”