Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu has stressed the need for a people’s movement to preserve Telugu and complement the efforts of the government in delivering the benefits of the language and traditions to the future generations.
Mr. Venkaiah Naidu participated as the chief guest at the sixth annual ‘Rashtretara Telugu Samakhya’ conference held virtually from the city on Sunday.
Highlighting the power of language to unite people across generations and geographies, Mr. Venkaiah Naidu called for a concerted effort to preserve, enrich and propagate native languages, cultures and traditions.
“Telugu people should come together onto a single platform for the cause of Telugu language and revitalisation of our local traditions,” he said.
Stating that the neglect of a language would lead to its decline, the Vice-President felt that it was the duty of every individual to preserve and promote one’s mother tongue, without belittling other languages and cultures.
Mr. Venkaiah Naidu also underscored the need for primary education to be in one’s mother tongue, as envisaged by the National Educational Policy-2020.
Myth dispelled
He noted that the persons presently occupying top constitutional offices in the country, including the President, the Vice-President, the Prime Minister and the Chief Justice of India, had their primary education in their mother tongues, which disproved the popular myth that learning in one’s own mother tongue would not help them in succeeding in their chosen life goals.
The Vice-President also called for more initiatives in translating Telugu literature into other Indian languages, thereby spreading the richness of Telugu language and tradition far and wide.
Appreciating the fact that many cultural organisations continued their work online in the wake of the pandemic, he suggested that efforts be intensified to integrate language and technology in the same spirit.
Noting that there were more than a thousand organisations outside the Telugu States for the preservation and propagation of Telugu language, the Vice-President commended the initiative of the organisers in coming together onto a common platform called ‘Rashtretara Telugu Samakhya’.
Himachal Pradesh Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, Minister for Women and Child Development and Social Welfare, Government of West Bengal, Shashi Panja, former Deputy Speaker of Andhra Pradesh Mandali Buddha Prasad, president of All-India Telugu Federation C.M.K. Reddy and president of Rashtrethara Telugu Samakhya Sundara Rao were among those who were present in the virtual event.
