Noting the importance of language in forming one’s identity and boosting self-confidence in the youth, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu today said people must take pride in speaking in their mother tongue.
He also called for proactive and concerted efforts to increase the number of translations of literary classics in various Indian languages.
In this regard, he suggested leveraging technological advancements in translation to make the rich heritage of regional Indian literature accessible to people in their mother tongue.
In particular, Naidu praised the efforts of institutions such as Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University in translating classics such as ‘Amuktamalyada’ by Sri Krishnadevaraya into other Indian languages. He called for more such efforts from similar universities to preserve and promote the use of different languages in India.
Addressing the Foundation Day celebrations of the Telugu University, the Vice President lauded the university’s commitment to preserve Telugu language, literature, and history through various research initiatives.
He paid tributes to the former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh late N T Rama Rao, who took the initiative to establish the university. He also appreciated the efforts of the Telangana state government and Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao in developing the university and furthering the cause of Telugu language and culture.
Noting that globalisation has had a widespread impact, Naidu stressed the need to ensure that the youth do not lose touch with their cultural heritage.
Naidu observed that the National Educational Policy, 2020, aims at promoting Indian languages and encourages primary education to be in the child’s mother tongue. He said the medium of education must be in the mother tongue up to higher education and for technical courses too.
In this regard, Naidu called upon the universities to undertake advanced research in languages and improve the scientific and technical terminology in Indian languages in order to facilitate their wider reach and use in academia.