1 / 7Home Minister Amit Shah recently made a statement while presiding over the 37th meeting of the Parliamentary Official Language Committee in New Delhi, which kicked up a storm. He said, "The time has come to make the Official Language an important part of the unity of the country." Shah also said that Hindi be made compulsory in northeastern states up to 10th standard. The statement courted controversy and there have been reactions from celebrities across the country. Here's a look at who said what. (Image: Reuters)
2 / 7Actor Ajay Devgn while replying to Kannada actor Kichcha Sudeep's comment said: "Hindi was, is, and will always be our national language." The tweet did not go down well with netizens who were quick to point out India does not have an official national language.
3 / 7The Kannada actor had earlier said in an interview that Hindi was not a national language. While many people slammed the actor for his comment, Devgn reacted and received the above response.
4 / 7Meanwhile, politicians in Karnataka as a united front came out in favour of Sudeep, which revived the debate. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said, "Our states were formed because of languages. Regional languages have been given importance. Sudeep's statement is right and everyone should respect that." Former CM Siddaramaiah in his response said, Hindi was new & will never be out National Language. It is the duty of every Indian to respect linguistic diversity of our Country.Each Language has its own rich hostory for its people to be proud of. I am proud to be Kannadiga!"
5 / 7Actor Sonu Sood too took the opportunity to share his views on the Hindi language debate in the country. The actor who helped hundreds of people during the coronavirus pandemic said that India was united by the language of entertainment. "I don’t think Hindi can be called just the national language. India has one language, which is entertainment. It doesn’t really matter which industry you belong to. If you entertain people, they will love you, honour you and accept you," Sood was quoted as saying by Indian Express. (Image: Shutterstock)
6 / 7This was followed by actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui mocking English-speaking actors for attempting to work in Hindi films. In an interview he highlighted this as the major difference between Bollywood and the South Indian film industries, where, Nawaz said, they are proud of their languages. (Image: Shutterstock)
7 / 7Oscar-winning musician AR Rahman had recently shared an illustration mentioning "Beloved Tamil" on social media. The 55-year-old artist shared an image of "Thamizhanangu" of "Goddess Tamil", a word from Tamil Thai Vaazhthu or the Tamil national anthem, Firstpost reported. (Image: Shutterstock)
