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.
