Call to preserve language, culture for posterity

Peddapalli: Officiating District Collector S Prabhakar Reddy has stressed the need for safeguarding our culture, language and traditions so that they could be handed down to posterity carefully.

He was speaking after lighting a lamp to mark the inauguration of a function organized in connection with the upcoming World Telugu Conference, along with MLA of Peddapalli Dasari Manohar Reddy, at the Arya Vysya Bhavan here on Tuesday. He cautioned people against forgetting their mother tongue even though they may use English in their business dealings.

The Government of Telangana is organising the World Telugu Conference on a grand scale mainly to spread the greatness of Telugu across the world. The conference would go a long way in felicitating poets and litterateurs who have enriched our culture. He called upon poets, writers and lovers of literature to utilize the opportunity.

Dasari Manohar Reddy said that our ancient culture, language and culture faced neglect in the undivided Andhra Pradesh, though many great poets and writers had taken birth on the soil.

The World Telugu Conference, being held in Hyderabad from December 15 to 19, would help spread our culture and language far and wide. He appreciated the district administration for planning cultural programmes on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Soon after the state’s formation, the government had declared festivals unique to Telangana culture as state festivals and organised them on a grand scale. This gesture had helped spread our culture across the world.

The World Telugu Conference would be useful in promoting our language across the world, he said. Delegates from 20 countries would take part in the event, he said. The conference would make all lovers of Telugu language feel proud.

The Chief Minister had made Telugu a compulsory subject from Class 1 to Class 12, he said and asked teachers to strive to implement the policy. Instead of reading Telugu just as a matter of routine, one should approach the language with utmost regard, treating it as a great language that teaches us manners. One must give due respect to our mother tongue.

Telangana State Irrigation Development Corporation Chairman Eeda Sankar Reddy said that Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao had been paying special attention to promote Telugu. He called upon poets and writers to make good use of the World Telugu Conference and derive benefits from various meetings being arranged as part of the conference.

MLC Naradasu Lakshmana Rao expressed concern over the distortion of culture, language and history during the rule of the united AP. The State government had been striving to set the distortion strait. Preparatory programmes are being organised in all districts prior to the World Telugu Conference, he said.

Pursuing education in mother tongue would help students acquire deep knowledge, power of observation and other qualities. In the context of globalization, learning English has become a necessity, but people should not forget their mother tongue.

Earlier, poets, writers, students and artistes took out a rally from the Collectorate to Vysya Bhavan. The participants formed a human chain near the Ambedkar statue. The rally was flagged off by the District In-Charge Collector.

Municipal Chairman L Rajaiah, Mayor of Ramagundam Lakshmi Narayana, Woman and Child Welfare regional organizer Mula Vijaya Reddy, District Rural Development Officer in-charge Prem Kumar, DEO Venkateswara Rao, District Youth and Sports Official Raja Veeru, DPRO G Veeraiah, district officials, poets, writers and students took part in the rally.