The Hindu : Telugu to be made compulsory in schools

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 03, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh

Telugu to be made compulsory in schools

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD APRIL 2. Telugu will be taught compulsorily in all schools from now onwards and this year will be treated as `Telugu Adhikara Bhasha Samvatsaram' (Official Language Year), the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, N.Chandrababu Naidu, has announced in response to the pleas of speakers at `Swabhanu Ugadi' celebrations.

Addressing a gathering at the Ugadi celebrations organised by the Department of Cultural Affairs on Wednesday, Mr. Naidu said the richness of Telugu language was well-known and the Government would do its bit to promote the language. Likewise, Urdu, too, would be given special attention, he said.

Referring to the Ugadi predictions, he hoped the bright prospects of a good monsoon and a bumper crop would come true. Mr. Naidu lamented that nature was not cooperating and recurring drought was having a telling effect on the rural economy. The Central Government had been sympathetic enough to release 31.5 tonnes of rice under Food-for-Work programme last year and 15 lakh tonnes rice had been released this year, he said.

He appealed to people to dedicate themselves to the development of the State, pointing out that unless a united effort was made, the Vision-2020 would not be realised. Officials had even greater responsibility in implementing the programmes and schemes with renewed zeal, he said.

The Speaker, K. Pratibha Bharati, spoke on the significance of Ugadi while the Minister for Agriculture, V. Sobhanadreeswara Rao, said the `Vyavasaya Panchangam' released by the Chief Minister on the occasion would be of great help to the farming community.

The Minister for Tourism and Cultural Affairs, T. Srinivasa Yadav, explained the Government's contribution to the promotion of culture.

The Minister of State for Railways, B.Dattatreya, greeted people on the occasion, and assured the State Government of greater help from the Centre. He said the relations between the State Government and the Centre were excellent and Mr. Naidu never posed any problems to it nor did he make any unreasonable demands.

The chairman of the AP State Cultural Council, C. Narayana Reddy, urged the Chief Minister to promote Telugu.

The Chief Minister earlier released Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam's `panchangam' which was put up for sale some time ago.

Later, he honoured 15 scholars in various fields. `Kavi Sammelanam' followed.

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