NELLORE: Vice-president M. Venkaiah Naidu, while observing that Telugu has a rich literary history, called for renewed efforts to promote its usage.
He was virtually addressing an event commemorating ‘Telugu Language Day’, organized by Veedhi Arugu and South African Telugu Community (SATC) on Sunday.
On this occasion, Naidu paid rich tributes to Telugu writer and linguist, Gidugu Venkata Ramamurthy for his efforts in spearheading a language movement to make Telugu literature comprehensible to the general public.
Listing a few measures to protect and promote the use of Indian languages, he suggested the use of local languages in administration, promoting reading habit among children, and encouraging the culture of libraries in towns and villages. He also called for more initiatives to translate literary works among different Indian languages.
Observing that language and culture are deeply interlinked, Naidu advised youth to use the language as a means to reconnect with their roots.
“Language is more than just a medium of communication. It is the unseen thread that connects our past, present and future”, he remarked.
Stressing that language is not just a marker of one’s identity, he said that it boosts self-confidence. He underscored the need for primary education to be in one’s mother-tongue, as envisaged by the National Educational Policy, 2020, and to eventually extend higher and technical education.
Naidu also suggested improving scientific and technical terminology in Indian languages in order to ensure a wider reach.
“This self-confidence will lead to self-reliance and gradually pave the way for Atmanirbhar Bharat”, he added.
Rejecting the notion that one could achieve success in life only if one studied in English, he cited his own example and that of President, Ramnath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Justice of India, N.V. Ramana, saying that each of them had school education in their respective mother-tongue but managed to occupy high constitutional positions.
He congratulated Bhavina Patel for winning a silver medal in the Table Tennis Women Singles Class 4 event in the ongoing Tokyo Paralympics 2020.
G. Satheesh Reddy, chairman, DRDO, Y.V. Subba Reddy, chairman, TTD, Vikram Petluri, founder-president, South African Telugu Community (SATC), Venkat Tharigopula, founder-president, Veedhi Arugu, linguists, poets and artists from around the world participated in the online event.
