Learn any language, don't forget mother tongue: VP

Underscoring the importance of protection and promotion of mother tongues, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu today said he has made it a point to drive home the issue wherever he goes.

"I have set a goal, the protection of mother tongues. The protection of native languages in the country, be it Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Kannada, Punjabi, Bengali, Assamese or Bhojpuri, is needed," he said.

"Like the cultural renaissance, all languages need to be promoted and their sweetness and fragrance taken to the new and young generation.. I'm talking about languages wherever I am going," Naidu said.

He was speaking at the inauguration of the 75th year celebrations of Telangana Saraswata Parishad, a Telugu literary organisation.

One can learn any other language, but mother tongue should not be forgotten, the vice president stressed.

"I'm not against English. You study English, French, Russian, any language. But, don't forget your mother tongue. Because, language and perception, both walk together," Naidu said.

He also talked about the importance of Hindi.

The decision of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao to make Telugu compulsory from the primary-level showed his commitment towards the promotion of Telugu, he said.

Naidu hailed the contribution of the parishad to the protection and promotion of Telugu in the region, despite facing obstacles during the Nizam period.