Venkaiah Naidu bats for mother tongue

Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday called for protecting and promoting various Indian languages through the use of mother tongue from education to administration.

Venkaiah Naidu, who completed three years in office as the Vice-President reemphasized his stance on the importance of primary education being taught in a child's mother tongue and that the government schools and educational institutions must promote the mother tongue up to the primary level.

Speaking to journalists via Google Meet marking the completion of three years in office as Vice-President and Chairman of Rajya Sabha, Venkaiah Naidu said, "I am not advocating that we should not teach our children multiple languages. I always say that the mother tongue is your eyesight and the other language is your spectacle. If you don't have eyesight and if you wear glasses, nothing will be visible. I always stress upon the promotion of 'Matrubhasha' (mother tongue). All languages are important, but one should respect, learn, and understand one's mother tongue. I always tell people that one should never forget his or her mother, mother tongue, or motherland. Language should become a catalyst for inclusive development."

Venkaiah Naidu, who stepped into the fourth year as Rajya Sabha chairman said respecting and recognizing the mother tongue and promoting it is vital for the survival of any civilization. Calling for imparting education in mother tongue up to primary school level, the Vice-President said, "Language is the lifeblood of a culture and the very foundation of any civilization. Only when language flourished, the culture and traditions of a community would sustain, and one could not separate language from its society. We must take all steps to make the mother tongue the language of administration not just the medium of instruction at the primary level. Any language can gain wide popularity only through widespread usage."

The Vice-President expressed deep anguish over the health condition of playback singer S P Balasubramanian who tested positive for Covid-19. "After Ghantasala, the only other Telugu voice that continues to mesmerize me is the mellifluous and melodious voice of Balasubramanian. I spoke to his son who told me that his condition is critical."

Balasubramanian is currently undergoing treatment for Covid-19 at MGM Hospital in Chennai. He had been moved to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and is on life support. "I wish and pray for his early recovery so that he will continue to enthrall his millions of fans across the world," the Vice-President said rather in an anguished tone. Incidentally, both the Vice-President and the 74-year-old playback singer hail from Nellore. "I spoke to him only a few days back. I asked him to lend his voice for a song on Nellore penned by lyricist Vennala Kanti. In the meanwhile, I had to hear this unfortunate news about his health condition," Venkaiah Naidu said.

As the country's corona caseload surpassed 24 lakh with 49,000 deaths, the Vice-President appealed to the media not to exaggerate and desist from stoking fear among people. "Media plays a crucial role in providing information regarding the pandemic. Media is like oxygen for democracy. Since little is known about the Covid-19, media should play a constructive role in infusing courage and not spreading misinformation that triggers fear among the people. People are gripped in fear and hence the constructive role of the media is more significant today than before," the Vice-President appealed.

The Vice-President also said the much-awaited monsoon session of Parliament will happen in September. "Under the Constitution, the duration between the end of one session and the start of the next cannot exceed six months. Therefore, we will have to hold the session in September."

During the interaction, Venkaiah Naidu also played a video of his book 'Connecting, Communicating, changing', which chronicles his three years in office as Vice-President. The book was recently released by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar.