Use freedom of expression responsibly, says Vice-President Naidu

Naidu called for observing decency in public utterances and said that writers and thinkers are expected to create intellectual discourse in society, not trigger controversies

Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday emphasised the need to use freedom of expression responsibly so that the faith or sentiments of others are not hurt.

Addressing the 33rd Moortidevi award ceremony organised by Bhartiya Jnanpith here, he called for observing decency in public utterances and said that writers and thinkers are expected to create intellectual discourse in society, not trigger controversies.

Eminent Hindi author Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari was presented this year's Moortidevi awards for his outstanding work 'Asti Aur Bhavati'.

According to an official statement from the Vice President Secretariat, Naidu characterised the writers and thinkers as the intellectual capital of the nation who enrich it with their creative ideas and literature.

Describing 'word' and 'language' as the most important inventions of human history, he said literature is the living carrier of the thought-tradition of a society.

"The more cultured a society, the more refined would be its language. The more awakened the society, the more extensive its literature would be," he observed.

Praising the country's rich linguistic diversity, the vice president termed it India's national strength which has forged cultural unity.

He wanted an increased dialogue between Indian languages and suggested that everyone must learn some words, idioms and greetings in other Indian languages. It is an important exercise for the linguistic and emotional unity of the country, Naidu said.

Stressing that every Indian language is a 'national language', the vice president urged the national media to give adequate space to all Indian languages and their literature.

Appreciating the efforts of institutions like Sahitya Akademi for translating and promoting literature in Indian languages, Naidu said more efforts are needed in this direction and the latest technologies should be fully leveraged for this.

He also said that literary works translated from other Indian languages should be included in university curriculum.

Justice Vijender Jain, the President of Bharatiya Jnanpith, Sahu Akhilesh Jain, the Managing Trustee of Bharatiya Jnanpith and others were present at the event.