Hyderabad:Despite severe restrictions on the Telugu language during the Nizam era, a number of initiatives by Andhra Mahila Sabha, the Library Movement and other organisations have played a key role in protecting the language and a similar movement must start every home, said Union minister for coal and mines G. Kishan Reddy.
Participating in the 12th biennial International Conference of the World Telugu Federation at the HICC, Madhapur, Kishan Reddy pointed out that Nizam had imposed restrictions on the Telugu language and made it mandatory to study in Urdu medium in schools.
Even in such conditions, a number of organisations worked to safeguard the Telugu language. He said that Avadhana Prakriya is a unique feature of poetic performance in the Telugu language. Such uniqueness is found only in Sanskrit and no other language in the world has such a rare practice.
Kishan Reddy pointed out that a number of progressive countries like China, South Korea, Japan, Germany, Italy, Spain and Taiwan, which made rapid development in different sectors, continue to have their mother tongues as their media of education. However, the use of Telugu has largely stopped from primary education in our Telugu states.
Expressing concern over the growing preference for the English language, Kishan Reddy said that the colonial rulers have spread a false impression that English alone provides jobs and development. Many people now hardly use 30 per cent Telugu words in their communication and consider the use of English words as a status.
He also pointed out that the Narendra Modi government had given importance to mother tongues in the New Education Policy and started efforts to bring all textbooks in different Indian languages.
