Jana Sena Party (JSP) founder Pawan Kalyan has warned that any attempt to do injustice to the Telugu language will not be tolerated by linguists.
At a meeting of litterateurs here on Monday, Mr. Pawan Kayan said speaking and learning in one’s mother tongue would not only elevate the comprehension process, but also have a bearing on perpetuating one’s culture.
Dwelling at length on the ongoing controversy over introduction of English medium in government schools from Classes 1 to 6, he said the parents should have been involved in the decision-making process, rather than the State thrusting its view on the children.
“The State government is bent upon converting only Telugu medium schools into English. The Urdu, Odiya, Kannada, Hindi and Bengali medium schools run by the State remain untouched. What sort of educational policy is this?” he asked.
‘I myself a victim’
Calling himself a ‘victim’ of English medium education, Mr. Pawan Kalyan lamented over his inability to speak in chaste Telugu or understand the sweetness of Telugu classics like Amuktamalyada. He also blamed the absence of moral values in the academic curriculum as the root cause for turbulent social conditions and remorseless living, hinting at growing instances of rape, murders and assaults.
“Telugu people will continue to live, but Telugu will vanish as the present move sounds the death-knell. He invited all like-minded people, literary lovers and linguists to join him in the process of reviving the lost glory of Telugu language and its rich culture.
Mr. Pawan Kalyan, however, did not confine to accusing the YSRCP regime for the present state and pointed out that all the successive governments since the formation of Andhra Pradesh on linguistic basis had a role in relegating Telugu to the backburner. “Our politicians did great injustice to the sacrifice made by Potti Sriramulu. They merely inherited his political legacy, but not his true spirit to safeguard the language and culture,” he rued.
Retired bureaucrat N. Muktheswara Rao conducted the session, while litterateurs Samudrala Lakshmanaiah, Medasani Mohan, G. Damodara Naidu, literary activist Dorai Raju, Karunanidhi, academician C. Govindaraju among others welcomed his move. Party senior leaders Nadendla Manohar, K. Naga Babu and P. Hariprasad took part in the meeting.
