On the occasion of Hindi Diwas, Union Home Minister Amit Shah pitched for a common language for the country and has openly proclaimed that Hindi is the only language that can unite the nation today.

The minister posted a tweet in Hindi earlier this morning that read, "India is a country of different languages and every language has its own importance but it is very important to have a language of the whole country which should become the identity of India in the world. Today, if one language can do the work of tying the country to the door of unity, then it is the most spoken Hindi language." (translated)

"Today, on the occasion of Hindi Day, I appeal to all the citizens of the country that we should increase the use of our mother tongue and also use the Hindi language as one language to realize the dreams of Bapu and iron man Sardar Patel. Happy Hindi Day," he further added.

The BJP government recently proposed the idea of making Hindi mandatory in all schools across the country along with English and the mother-tongue in non-Hindi speaking states. Tamil Nadu's major political parties, DMK and AIADMK, headed protests against the implementation of the idea, claiming that the plan served a "political purpose" in the long term.

West Bengal's Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had said, "Every state has a separate character and separate language. Priority must be given to regional languages. I have full support for regional languages. Importance must be given to the mother tongue and then to other languages."

Following Amit Shah's appeal today, DMK Chief MK Stalin has strongly opposed the move, saying that the Union Minister's comment could, in fact, affect the unity of India. "If the national language is the most widely spoken Hindi, then the most flying bird in India, crow, should have been the national bird of India, this was our leaders Anna's stand. From that day, DMK has worked hard to protest Tamil language. There is an attempt to impose Hindi dividing the spirit of our country (unity in diversity). The DMK is ready to defend the integrity of the country." Stalin stated.

"Across the country, Hindi Diwas is being celebrated. When will PM Modi celebrate Kannada diwas, which is also an official language according to the Constitution?" former Karnataka CM and JD-S Chief HD Kumaraswamy asked.

भारत विभिन्न भाषाओं का देश है और हर भाषा का अपना महत्व है परन्तु पूरे देश की एक भाषा होना अत्यंत आवश्यक है जो विश्व में भारत की पहचान बने। आज देश को एकता की डोर में बाँधने का काम अगर कोई एक भाषा कर सकती है तो वो सर्वाधिक बोले जाने वाली हिंदी भाषा ही है। pic.twitter.com/hrk1ktpDCn

— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) September 14, 2019