Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu today called for coming up with innovative ways to promote Indian languages and adapt them to the changing times. Observing that language is not a static concept, he stressed the need to adopt a dynamic and proactive approach to enrich languages.
He said that a people’s movement is needed to preserve the ‘living culture’ of language. He also expressed his happiness that the cultural and linguistic renaissance was getting more and more support from the people.
Urging people to take pride in speaking their own mother tongue, Naidu said there should not be any feeling of inferiority in the use of Indian languages in day-to-day life.
Virtually addressing an event to commemorate ‘Telugu Language Day’ today organized by Veedhi Arugu and South African Telugu Community (SATC), he observed that Telugu is an ancient language with hundreds of years of rich literary history and called for renewed efforts to promote its usage.
On this occasion, Naidu paid rich tributes to Telugu writer and linguist, Shri Gidugu Venkata Ramamurthy whose birth anniversary is celebrated every year as the ‘Telugu Language Day’. He lauded the literary icon for his efforts in spearheading a language movement to make Telugu literature comprehensible to common people.
Listing a few measures to protect and promote the use of Indian languages, the Vice President suggested the use of local languages in administration, promoting reading habit among children, and encouraging the culture of libraries in towns and villages.
He also called for more initiatives to translate literary works between different Indian languages. He wanted teaching of the nuances of language to children in a simple manner, through games and activities.
He suggested encouraging children to learn as many languages as possible, beginning with a strong foundation in one’s own mother tongue.