Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 27 (Agency) Hindi is not competing or opposed to regional languages, Union Minister of State for Home Shri Ajay Kumar Mishra said here on Friday. Hindi is a language that is easily understood by the people of India and some oppose Hindi only for political reasons, the Minister said while presiding over the Regional Official Language Conference organised by Department of Official Languages under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. In fact Hindi is India’s own language and is the sister of other regional Indian languages, he added.
The minister said that the Department of Official Languages has created and developed a memory-based translation system called ‘Kantasth’ which increased the speed and quality of translation in government offices. So far, this tool has included about 22 lakh sentences. Usability has increased further as more new features have now been added, including Neural Machine Translation. The Minister said that the Department itself is strengthening Hindi through e-Mahasabdakosh and other technological means Addressing the programme, Kerala Governor Arif Muhammad Khan said that India is a land of pluralism. He said India is rich in thousands of languages, including dialects. Department of Official Languages Secretary Ms Anshuli Arya, Principal Accountant General Ms Sudharmini, DOL Joint Secretary Ms Meenakshi Jolly among others were present on the occasion. The Governor presented awards to central government offices, banks and institutions that have shown excellent performance in the language of administration in various categories.