Naidu appeals for use of mother tongue as medium of instruction at primary level

Speaking at the 6th annual ‘Rashtretara Telugu Samakhya’ conference, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, on June 27, emphasised the need for people's collective appeal or movement to preserve vernacular languages in order to deliver the benefits of lingo traditions to future generations.

"People’s movement needed for the preservation of our languages. Let's move forward united to propagate Indian languages, cultures and traditions," VP Naidu said.

Complementing the efforts of the government and highlighting the power in languages to unite people across geographies and generations, VP Naidu hailed for a unified effort to preserve and propagate languages, cultures and traditions. He suggested that Telugu people should come together as one for the cause of their language enrichment and revitalisation of local traditions.

He explained why it was imperative to spread the richness of one’s language tradition so that its virtue is embraced by communities and generations. 

Neglecting a language leads to its decline

Noting that neglecting a language would lead to its decline, the Vice President advised that it is the duty of each individual to "preserve and promote one’s mother tongue, without belittling other languages and cultures".

As envisaged by National Educational Policy, 2020, VP Naidu underlined the need for primary education to be in one's mother tongue.

"Persons presently occupying the highest constitutional offices of the country, including the President, Vice President, Prime Minister and the Chief Justice of India all had primary education in their mother tongue. People should not have the false impression that one cannot succeed and grow in life if they learn in their mother tongue. We have many past and present exemplars to disprove that,” he said.

He also called for more initiatives to translate Telugu texts and literature into other Indian languages. Enthusiastically, he brought to light many such cultural organisations that work online in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic; he called for intensified efforts "to integrate language and technology for the same purpose and complimented the initiative's organisers for their unison on platforms like ‘Rashtretara Telugu Samakhya’.

The Vice President is on a three-day trip to Vizag city starting from June 26 to 29. During the visit, he interacted with the Chairman of Vishakhapatnam Port Trust to talk about his intentions to bolster India's presence in the global maritime chain and making India a supreme maritime nation.