Bharatiya Bhasha Anubhag

Push for language equality

Bharatiya Bhasha Anubhag: On June 6, 2025, Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched the Bharatiya Bhasha Anubhag (BBA) in New Delhi. This new section is meant to make Indian governance more inclusive by encouraging the use of regional and mother tongue languages in day-to-day administration. It’s a strong step toward reducing India’s overdependence on English for official work.

For years, many have pointed out that India’s rich language diversity is often ignored in government communication. The BBA initiative challenges that trend.

Breaking language barriers

One of the main goals of this program is to help Indian citizens think and work in their own languages. By promoting Indian languages in decision-making, it opens up opportunities for more people to engage with governance directly.

The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) has been roped in to help build translation tools. These tools will translate official documents and communications across Indian languages and Hindi, making them more accessible.

For example, a government circular written in Hindi could be translated into Tamil, Malayalam, or Bengali within seconds. This improves inclusivity and brings people from non-Hindi-speaking states into the governance loop more effectively.

Historical context

This change also reflects a deeper push to correct old practices. According to the Official Languages Rules, 1976, communication with certain states (like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka) was primarily conducted in English. That meant non-English speakers were often left out of the loop.

Now, with BBA, that gap is being addressed. It’s also aligned with the goals of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which promotes learning and governance in one’s mother tongue.

Financial support and future plans

The Union Budget 2024-25 has allocated ₹56 crore to support this section. This funding will go toward building digital platforms, translation systems, and promoting linguistic awareness.

Through this initiative, the government hopes to build a linguistically inclusive India where all languages have equal importance in shaping policies and decisions.

Voices from the launch

Amit Shah made a strong statement at the launch: “Our true potential will be achieved only when our governance happens in our own languages.” His words reflected the core idea of this move: governance should feel familiar, not foreign.

Anshuli Arya, Secretary of the Official Languages Division, added that this step was essential for bridging language-based gaps in government work.

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