Drive to Protect Mother Tongues Should Become People's Movement, Says Venkaiah Naidu

Observing that language is a fundamental bond uniting people, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday said that the drive to protect and preserve mother tongue should become a people’s movement in the country. Addressing the International Mother Language Day celebrations held under the aegis of the Ministry of Earth Science, virtually, he said “if we lose our mother tongue, we will lose our identity.” Languages should be tailored to the changing needs of the times and creative and innovative ways should be found to promote them among younger generations, he said.

Children should be encouraged to learn the nuances of the language through games and activities, he opined while underlining the need to improve scientific and technical terminology in Indian languages. Describing languages as carriers of our cultural heritage, Naidu said language is the vital, unseen thread connecting the past with the present. “Our languages are thus a repository of our collective knowledge and wisdom which we have amassed over thousands of years…I prefer to not use the term ‘regional languages.’ I suggest we refer to all of them as ‘Indian languages’ – signifying their equal status and distinct identities,” he said. Also, he expressed happiness that NEP-2020 encourages the use of mother tongue in schools and colleges and seeks to ‘Indianise’ our education system by making it holistic, value-based and inclusive. Commending this approach, he urged the states to implement the policy in letter and spirit. “I have always maintained that we must offer technical courses in mother tongues also to make education truly inclusive. I am glad that many institutions are taking steps in this direction,” the Vice President said.

Naidu urged the state governments to take a proactive stance in implementing Indian languages in every walk of life and to make mother tongue the language of administration and a medium of education. He advocated the learning of as many languages as possible. Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences M Ravichandran, former Vice Chancellor, Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya, Wardha, Prof Girishwar Mishra, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Indira Murthi and others attended the virtual event.

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