Govt passes resolution: State to prioritise use of Gujarati at public places

The minister also requested owners of private spaces accessed by the public, such as cinema halls, theatres, libraries, gardens and others to add Gujarati to their signages and other materials.

Announcing the decision on Twitter, Sanghavi said, “Gujarat has more than 18,000 villages where only Gujarati is used. However, with urbanisation, there is a need to keep the Gujarati language alive in the cities and make its use widespread… I request all the seniors in the government offices and CEOs of private companies to not consider this merely as a resolution but a responsibility for which I hope to get your support, to take it forward.”

The Gujarat Official Languages Act, which came into effect on February 15, 1961, had made the use of Gujarati compulsory for all official purposes and the use of Hindi in Devnagri script, “except such purposes as the state government may, from time to time, by notification in the official gazette, specify”.

Sanghavi told this paper that right from the formation of Gujarat on May 1, 1960, the government has been making efforts for the widespread use of Gujarati, “which is not just a language, but a rich culture embedding a glorious history and literary heritage”.

Gujarat’s foundation was on the basis of language when it was carved out of the Bombay Presidency through the Maha Gujarat Movement on May 1, 1960.

On the state’s foundation day in 1965, the state government had made the use of the language compulsory at the Secretariat and other government offices at the district and taluka levels.