Speak in your mother tongue: Venkaiah Naidu

Vice president M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday asked people to speak in their mother tongue while releasing a commemorative coin on Bharat Ratna M S Subbulakshmi at an event here.

“Respect the language that has come from your mother’s womb. I always tell people that one should never forget his or her mother, motherland, native place and mother tongue. Those who forget those cannot be called human beings, they are something else. So, always speak in your mother tongue,” he said.

The vice president’s remarks come at a time when the Narendra Modi government is facing accusations of making efforts to impose Hindi on the people of non-Hindi speaking states.

The event was organised by the Ministry of Culture to celebrate the birth centenary of Subbulakshmi, who was the first musician to have been conferred the Bharat Ratna, and the first Indian musician to have performed at the United Nations General Assembly, in 1966.

She was also the first Indian musician to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award.