Dharmendra Pradhan asks Gujarat University students to prioritise Indian languages

NEW DELHI: Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan urged students to prioritise Indian languages and to “get rid of slave mindset and work with a collective spirit to further good governance and empower citizens”. His comments came amid the ongoing Hindi imposition debate.

Interacting with the students of Central University of Gujarat (CUG), Dharmendra Pradhan said, “Local languages play a vital role in delivering good governance. We have to prioritise Indian languages, take pride in our history, get rid of slave mindset and work with a collective spirit to further good governance and empower citizens.”

The parliamentary panel has recommended that English be replaced with Hindi and other regional languages as the medium of instruction in all central institutions.

The medium of instruction in Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AllMS), central universities and Kendriya Vidyalayas in Hindi-speaking states should be Hindi and in other parts of India their respective local language.

However, several political leaders have opposed the proposal as students who study in IITs, central universities, KVs in Hindi-speaking states hail from different parts of the country.

Pradhan also suggested CUG to include new courses on Gandhian thoughts, governance, Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS), ethics, disaster management. Asking the university to add courses in mathematics he said that “21st century workplaces and digital transformations have rendered mathematics inescapable”.

“Skills not degrees will shape the future of work. CUG must place more value on boosting competencies, skills and employability of learners. A university like Central University of Gujarat must act as a springboard to achieve the vision of a Vikasit Bharat,” he said.

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“We need to foster an academic environment that creates more job-creators. Our universities have an important role in transforming our students into global citizens,” he added.

Later, he also interacted with founders and co-founders of start-ups incubated by I-Hub, a Gujarat Government initiative. He also put forward a challenge to these young entrepreneurs to work upon new business ideas and solutions that will make India a developed nation in the next 25 years.

#HindiImpostition

Criticizing the 11th report of the Parliamentary Committee on Official Language, Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin said that the recommendations are a “direct onslaught on India's soul”.

Telangana IT minister KT Rama Rao also tweeted, “India does not have a national language and Hindi is one among the many official languages. To impose Hindi by way of mandating in IITs and central government recruitments, NDA Govt is flouting the federal spirit. Indians should have a choice of language and we say no to Hindi Imposition.”