Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu said that the New Education Policy follows the ‘Nai Talim’ of Mahatma Gandhi by giving importance to the mother tongue as the medium of instruction at school level.
Addressing the Silver Jubilee Celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi International Hindi University, Wardha, he recalled that the “Nai Talim” proposed by Mahatma Gandhi in Wardha in 1937 laid emphasis on making mother tongue as the medium of instruction in addition to free compulsory education and skill training to the students.
Naidu said that our Constituent Assembly, after a long debate, accepted Hindi as the official language and also accorded constitutional status to other Indian languages in the Eighth Schedule. Noting that every Indian language has a glorious history and rich literature, he said “We are fortunate to have linguistic diversity in our country. Our linguistic diversity is our strength as our languages symbolize our cultural unity.”
Referring to Mahatma Gandhi’s views on language, the Vice President said that for Gandhi, the question of language was a question of national unity. He further observed that even after insisting on Hindi, Mahatma Gandhi understood the sensitivity of every citizen to his mother tongue.
Gandhiji associated mother tongue with Swaraj and called for due importance to it, he said. He also said that Indian languages have played an important role in keeping the overseas Indian community connected with the motherland India.
The Vice President said that it is expected of a civilized society that its language should be gentle, cultured and creative. “Let us exercise our freedom of expression with the decency of language and the discipline of words,” he said.
On this occasion, the Vice President also unveiled the statue of the architect of the Constitution, Babasaheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar and said that Dr. Ambedkar remained committed to education and equality throughout his life. He expressed confidence that the statue of Dr. Ambedkar would be a source of inspiration for the teachers and students of the Wardha University.
Naidu also inaugurated Atal Bihari Vajpayee Bhawan and Chandrashekhar Azad Hostel in the university as part of its Silver Jubilee celebrations. Recalling the contribution of former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he said that Atal ji’s address at the United Nations General Assembly in Hindi was a momentous occasion for the nation.
Mahatma Gandhi International University, Wardha is teaching foreign languages like French, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese etc. in Hindi medium. Expressing happiness over this, Naidu called for extending this facility for other Indian languages also so that Hindi students can also learn other Indian languages.
