On the occasion of 'Hindi Diwas', Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister said that he took great pride in studying from a Hindi medium school.
Addressing the gathering on Thursday in the state capital, Chouhan said, "I have not studied from English medium school but have been serving as the Chief Minister since 12 years. Hindi language is the third most spoken language in the world. Then why people hesitate to speak Hindi? I urge people to take pride in Hindi."
The Chief Minister averred that he is not against any language, be it English or German and people are free to learn any language, but they should value Hindi as well.
Expressing similar sentiments, President Ram Nath Kovind, earlier in the day, urged that continuous efforts are necessary in this direction, so that more employment opportunities can be made available to youth through Hindi language.
"It is the responsibility of all of us to pursue all Indian languages ??with cooperation and equality," he noted during a function in New Delhi.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh also said people should not limit the usage to Hindi to official work but also use the language in their personal lives too.
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"Since Hindi is the official language it is our constitutional liability to ensure that Hindi is used a primary language for official work," said the Home minister, adding that this instruction should be complied with as much persistence as other official instructions are complied with.
Singh said that the identity of a strong nation is seen by how vast and enriching its language is, and that every language and dialect of India contributes to its national and cultural heritage.
"It is the duty of every citizen to protect the nation's heritage," he added.
Observing the role of Hindi as the country's official language, the Home Minister claimed that it was the only language that has played a major role in accomplishing unity in diversity.
Hindi Divas is celebrated as an event every year on this day because the Hindi language was first adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India as the official language of the Republic of India on September 14, 1949.
The decision of using Hindi language as an official language of India was legalized by the Constitution of India on January 26, 1950.
Hindi is spoken as a native language by 258 million people and is recognized as the 4th largest language in the world.
Hindi got its name from the Persian word Hind, meaning 'Land of the Indus River.
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