Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday made a strong case for learning mother tongues and against imposition of languages.
“Mother tongue is like our eye sight and other languages are like spectacles. “If we have eyesight, spectacles will work. If we don’t have eyesight, spectacles will not work,” he said, unveiling the 16-foot statue of former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi at the Omandurar Government Estate in Chennai.
He said he respected ‘Kalaignar’ (Karunanidhi) because he promoted Tamil language, culture and literature and every person in public life must do it. Mr. Naidu said that when people indulged in controversy, his suggestion would be “no imposition of any language and no opposition to any language”. “We should not oppose any language, but should support our language first,” he said.
“Learn as many languages as possible. If you want to work on a larger canvas, you need to learn the language spoken by a majority of the people. You need to learn international languages also. But you must master your mother tongue and then you will excel,” Mr. Naidu said.
He also advised youngsters to promote their mother tongue. “Speak in you mother tongue at home. Leave this ‘Mommy Daddy’ culture. Amma comes from the heart,” he added.
Mr. Naidu said he was happy that “Tamil people keep alive their culture and dress, tradition, music, the art and literature. People promote them and the government also propagates them. That is the way forward for all of us,” he said.
Mr. Naidu said the country would develop only if the States developed. “The country cannot progress without the development of States, and this has to be kept in mind. We have a strong nation with an able leadership. We have different political parties ruling different States. My suggestion is that all of us must work together for the welfare of our people, taking care of the downtrodden and the States. The Centre and the States should work together as Team India,” he said.
He said Karunanidhi was one of the iconic leaders and the great sons of India who put people at the centre of their work. “I have no hesitation in saying that he was one of the able administrators who gave a stable government and worked for the welfare of the downtrodden and social justice to various sections,” he said.
Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said that what was special about the statue was it was standing between the statues of Anna and Periyar on the arterial Anna Salai. “Even though an hospital is functioning from the venue, it is still a dream fort of Kalaignar,” he said.
Mr. Stalin said Mr. Naidu always remained a friend and had castigated the rulers after the arrest of Karunanidhi in 2001. “When we thought about a personality who could unveil the statue, he came to our mind and he immediately agreed to come when we invited him,” he said.
The Chief Minister said the modern Tamil Nadu was created by Karunanidhi because he had the vision to develop it. “That is why we praise him as the father of modern Tamil Nadu. Everyone in the State would have been benefited from the schemes implemented by him,” he added.
A documentary showcasing the achievements of Karunanidhi was screened. Leaders of the alliance parties and various personalities, including actor Rajinikanth, took part at the event. Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan welcomed the gathering and Chief Secretary V. Irai Anbu proposed a vote of thanks.
