AP Government sets up Telugu and Sanskrit Academy

Amaravati: The State Government of Andhra Pradesh on Saturday issued orders setting up Telugu and Sanskrit Academy.

Though the GO says that it is just a change of name of the Telugu Academy, this move of the State Government has come in for criticism from Telugu intellectuals and those who have been striving for promotion of Telugu.

Former Deputy Speaker of AP Legislative Assembly Mandali Buddha Prasad said that the Government should have set up a separate Sanskrit Academy if it wanted to promote Sanskrit instead of changing its name.

The Telugu Academy was set up in 1968 with the Central government funds with an aim to develop research, modernisation of language and spreading of Telugu language.

Former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao, whose centenary celebrations just concluded, served as first chairman of the Telugu Academy.

This academy has been publishing textbooks from Intermediate to post-graduation level and has become self-sufficient with funds to the tune of Rs 300 crore. But after bifurcation this academy has been on the list of disputed properties of Andhra and Telangana.

It continues to have its office in Hyderabad which is practically non-functional now and no funds have been coming in. In January this year, the Telangana High Court directed Telangana and AP to divide the assets and liabilities within two months as per AP State Re-Organisation Act 2014.

Earlier, a court agreement was reached giving AP and TS a 58-42 split of the Academy's assets. In June 2020, the state government had decided to set up Telugu and Sanskrit Academy. This decision has now come into effect with the issuance of the GO.

The government issued orders nominating four persons to the governing body of Telugu and Sanskrit Academy. Those nominated include D Bhaskar Reddy, retired professor in Department of Chemistry, Sri Venkateswara University, Rajakumar Nerella, Astro Counsellor and Teacher in Astrology, M Vijayasree, Associate professor (Retd) in Telugu, JKC college, Guntur, and Kappaganthu Ramakrishna, Telugu lecturer, SRSV B.Ed College.

The Government nominated V Muralidhara Sarma, Vice-Chancellor, National Sanskrit University, Tirupati, as University Grants Commission nominee in the board of Governors of AP Telugu and Sanskrit Academy.