PM highlights Telugu in ‘Mann Ki Baat’

Hyderabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday emphasised the importance of promotion of Telugu and appreciated its sweetness and greatness in his ‘Mann Ki Baat,’ on Sunday.

He said, “Friends, this month on the 29th is Telugu Bhasha Diwas. It’s truly an amazing language. I extend good wishes to Telugu speaking people across the world on Telugu Bhasha Diwas. "Prapancha Vyaaptanga Unna Telugu Variki Telugu Bhasha Dinotsav Shubhaakaankshalu," he said.

This statement lays emphasis on the need to not only protect mother tongue but also make it as compulsory in education at least till the high school level. It may be recalled that Telugu Bhasha Dinotsavam is celebrated to commemorate the birth anniversary of Gidugu Venkata Ramamurthy, a Telugu poet of 1863, who was a linguist and social visionary during the British rule who championed the cause of standardizing the Telugu script and colloquial (Vyavaharika Bhasha) language as against scholastic language.

It assumes importance since many people these days take pride in claiming that their children cannot speak in Telugu. The PM has always been insisting that mother tongue should be compulsory in education. Even the former vice president of India M Venkaiah Naidu makes it a point to stress upon this issue at every meeting he addresses.

The Andhra Pradesh government which organises functions and gives awards to teachers should also focus on ensuring that the language gets its due place from the primary school level and is promoted as vigorously as former chief minister N T Rama Rao had done during the mid-80’s, say the old timers and Telugu scholars. It should not end by organizing some programmes and giving lectures about the greatness of the language, they say.

Telugu, they add, is one of India’s six classical languages and is spoken by over 80 million people worldwide, making it the fifth most spoken language in India.