Apprehension over “imposition” of Tamil on linguistic minorities in State
Responding to requests from a section of the Telugu community, Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development D. Purandeswari said that she would convey their concerns over “imposition” of Tamil on linguistic minorities, to the State and the Union governments.
At the 12th Prathibha Puraskar function organised by Sri Kala Sudha Telugu Association here on Sunday, founder-president of the association Bethireddy Srinivas said the linguistic minorities in Tamil Nadu were worried whether Tamil would be imposed on them. “We do not mind the encouragement given to Tamil but we hope that we will not be forced by the government. We are requesting the Minister to take this up with the Chief Minister,” he said.
P. Rama Mohana Rao, Principal Secretary for Social Welfare and Nutritious Meal Programme, said it was the responsibility of the society to take care of its language and culture.
He said there was a long history of cultural exchanges between the Tamil and the Telugu people and it was still continuing.
Pointing out that there was only minimal patronage of the Telugu schools in the city, he said it was up to the Telugu people to take steps to preserve their culture and language. Ms. Purandeswari presented the awards to toppers in the civil services examinations, the IIT-JEE and to Padma Veerapaneni, director, KIMS Hospital, Hyderabad, for their achievements in their respective fields.
Speaking to reporters later, she said she would take the concerns of the Telugu community to the attention of the State government and other authorities. M. Sheela Priya, Additional Chief Secretary, Statistics and Economics, K.V.S. Murthi, retired Additional Director General of Police, and Muvva Chandrasekar, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Bangalore city, felicitated the award winners.
Keywords: Purandeswari, Telugu community, cultural exchange
what is highly unacceptable in this. No govt. can force linguistic or religious minorities to forego their right to protect their unique culture and language. The problem is not with encouraging them to learn Tamil as it is the regional language there and students needs to know the regional anguage of the state where they are residing. It is a problem only when they are denied the opportunity to learn their mother tongue that is Telugu. Our Constitution grants every body the right to protect their cultural and linguistic identity. Please do not judge someone's rightful concerns hastily. Be reasonable in your criticism. As a Tamilian, your right to get to protect your language and let your children learn your language even when you are residing in another state is as genuine as the Telugu people's right in this regard who are residing in Tamilnadu. Though they have mingled with the local population very well and became one amongst them, there is nothing wrong in trying to protect their unique identity and language.
This is highly unacceptable. Will AP government not forced the people to learn telugu language? This is absolutely stupidity.
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