Kishan Reddy defends Hindi at Hyderabad event, slams politicisation of language

Hyderabad: Union Minister Kishan Reddy on Friday asserted that he is not opposed to Telugu and defended his use of Hindi, calling it a national language that unites the country.

Speaking at the Rajbhasha Department’s Golden Jubilee celebrations held at Gachibowli’s Balayogi Stadium, Reddy said he learned Hindi to communicate with people across India, not as a rejection of Telugu.

He criticised those opposing Hindi for political reasons, accusing them of exploiting language identity for vote bank politics. “To those who protest Hindi, I urge you to remember we are all one,” he said.

Reddy reiterated that while Hindi is the national language, regional languages like Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Telugu remain vital mother tongues. He called on people in South India to use Hindi alongside their native languages.

Referring to global examples, he noted that heads of state in Russia, China, Israel, and Japan communicate in their respective national languages. Hindi, he said, is simple and connects people across regions.

“There is hardly a region in India where Hindi is not spoken,” he added, describing Hindi as the thread that ties together the bouquet of Indian languages.