International Mother Languages Day 2022: VP says protecting mother tongues should become a people’s movement

The Vice President, M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that language is a fundamental bond that unites people. Naidu spoke on the occasion of International Mother Languages Day virtually from Chennai in an event organised by the Ministry of Earth Science.

“The drive to protect and preserve mother tongues should become a people’s movement in the country. If we lose our mother tongue, we will lose our identity,” VP Naidu said.

He added, “A language is the vital, unseen thread that links the past with the present. Our languages are thus a repository of our collective knowledge and wisdom which we have amassed over thousands of years.”

VP Naidu emphasised the need to tailor languages keeping in mind the changing requirement of modern times and making them more creative so that they can be made appealing and interesting to children. “Children should be encouraged to learn the nuances of language through games and activities,” he said suggesting the need to improve the scientific and technical terminology in Indian languages.

He added, “A language is the vital, unseen thread that links the past with the present. Our languages are thus a repository of our collective knowledge and wisdom which we have amassed over thousands of years.”

He viewed that colonial rules caused a lot of harm to the Indian languages and said, “After independence also, we also have not made enough efforts to do justice to our languages. It was wrong not to have shifted to mother tongues and Indian languages after the colonial rule ended.”