Monday, May 30 2005 16:19 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bhopal: Reiterating his concern at the 'fading away' of Hindi and other regional languages in the country, vice-president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat today (May 30, 2005) said Hindi should be used as a weapon against future challenges and regional dialects should be preserved.

Asking the media to give priority to Members of Parliament who deliver their speeches in Hindi, he also said that court decisions should be pronounced in Hindi so that litigants 'know that justice has been done'.

"Laws are made in English. Legal battles are fought in the same language. Clients often remain unaware of the statements made by their lawyer and by the judge", Shekhawat said at a function organised by Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism in Bhopal.

"Since most of the litigants are villagers and poor, it should be ensured that decisions are pronounced in the national language. They should know that justice is served," he said, inaugurating a university research project on "Journalism in Post-independent India".

Claiming that the poor were emerging as the 'fifth pillar' of democracy, he said "Over 26 crore people were living below the poverty line. They are being neglected by the four pillars of the democracy, legislature, judiciary, executive and the media. While none of these pillars can bring down others, this fifth pillar has a capacity to make all other pillars collapse."

"The poor and villagers should be informed about the development schemes in a manner they understand as they have right to live with dignity. This is only possible through the use of Hindi", he added.