Venkaiah Naidu Sets Up Rs 5 lakh Endowment For Telugu Bhasha–Swarna Bharat–Tikkana Award
The annual award, to be managed by the Centre for Ancient Telugu Studies at Nellore, will recognise eminent contributors to the promotion of Telugu.
Nellore: Former Vice President of India M. Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday reaffirmed his commitment to the Telugu language by announcing a Rs 5 lakh endowment from his personal pension to institute the “Telugu Bhasha–Swarna Bharat–Tikkana Award.”
The annual award, to be managed by the Centre for Ancient Telugu Studies at Nellore, will recognise eminent contributors to the promotion of Telugu.
During his visit to the Centre, located within the Swarna Bharat Trust premises, Naidu stressed that while the Union government has set up language research centres across India, state governments must also take responsibility for their growth. He urged the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Education Minister to support the Centre’s development in partnership with the Union government.
Naidu called for the preservation of Telugu’s rich vocabulary through systematic documentation of fading words, compilation of comprehensive dictionaries, digitisation of ancient manuscripts, and encouragement of regional dialects.
“If a language loses importance, its history, culture, and traditions accumulated over thousands of years also fade away,” he cautioned.
On the occasion, a book titled Krishnadevarayala Keerthi, compiled by Maddaboosi Sampath Kumar, Director of the Centre, was presented to Naidu. Vikrama Simhapuri University Vice-Chancellor Srinivas Rao and other dignitaries attended.
