Warangal: Venkaiah Naidu pitches for promotion of Telugu

Warangal: Invoking the grace of the poets like Dasarathi Rangacharyulu, Vanamamalai Varadacharyulu and Kaloji brothers – Narayana Rao and Rameshwara Rao – of Warangal, and the cultural legacy transmitted through generations since the times of Kakatiya Dynasty, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said time is ripe to protect and preserve the language Telugu.

The occasion he chose to advocate his point was apt – He was speaking at the Platinum Jubilee of the Andhra Vidyabhi Vardhani (AVV) Educational Institutions here on Sunday.

Former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao, popularly known as PV, who reached pinnacle in his political career had always remembered the Multipurpose High School and Arts & Science College in Hanamkonda that honed him. Such was the greatness of the institutions in Warangal which played a pivotal role in imparting quality education, Venkaiah Naidu said.

"At a time when the medium of instruction was mandatorily Urdu, the AVV Sangham, led by Chanda Kantaiah, strived hard to promote Telugu by establishing AVV Educational Institution and succeeded by convincing the then Nizam government," the Vice President said, stating that need of the hour is to promote and preserve the rich linguistic heritage of Indian languages.

Venkaiah said that the governments must make it compulsory for everyone who wants to work in the states to learn and speak its language.

He urged the Union and State governments to mandatorily link employment up to a level with the local languages to promote the use of mother tongue in the country.

The Vice President released the souvenir of the AVV Educational Institute and lauded the contributions of philanthropist and founder Chanda Kanthaiah, particularly his love for Telugu during the Nizam rule and his initiatives for starting Telugu Medium Schools.

Telangana Home Minister Mohammad Mahmood Ali, Panchayati Raj Minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao, Mayor Gunda Prakash Rao, legislators Nannapuneni Narender, D Vinay Bhaskar, MPs Pasunuri Dayakar, Banda Prakash, AVV Sangham President Dr Nagabandi Narasimha Rao, Organising Secretary Dr S Upendra Sastry and Secretary-cum-Correspondent Dr Chanda Vijay Kumar were among others present.