Save Telugu - A plea from 'Telugu Dandhu' to AP Govt

In a press conference held Monday morning at the Telugu Dandhu office, language activists urged the Andhra Pradesh government to prioritise primary education in the Telugu medium, treating English only as a subject not as the medium of instruction. Telugu Dandhu warned that failing to adopt a favourable decision would lead them to launch a Gandhian-style mother-tongue protection movement during the forthcoming Assembly sessions.

Paravastu Suri, founding president of Telugu Dandhu, asserted, “This Telugu land has never forgiven any government that has insulted or neglected the Telugu language. It has thrown them out by the neck. This is history.” He accused the current coalition government which has been in power for about a year and a half of paying lip service to protecting Telugu while failing to act. Intellectuals, language lovers, students, and teachers have long demanded primary education in the mother tongue, he said, but have been ignored. Instead, Suri alleged, the government is promoting English-medium instruction creating distance between Telugu children and their education and cultural roots all while claiming grand development.

Members of Telugu Dandhu also took aim at the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). Although the TDP had criticised past governments for undermining the Telugu language, Telugu Dandhu claimed that once in power, the party has “shamelessly resolved to implement English-medium education.” They questioned whether elevating English over Telugu in Andhra Pradesh is not itself an act of neglect.

Among their demands:

• That the government discusses this issue in the Assembly sessions.

• The creation of a Mother Tongue Development Authority.

• The issue of an official order mandating that all primary education be strictly in Telugu.

Speaking with disappointment and urgency, the members noted that when in opposition, the coalition government fiercely attacked its predecessors on issues ranging from special status to welfare programmes. Yet, now in power, they say, the government has shown little difference. “Please do not distance our Telugu language from our Telugu children,” was their minute-long plea.

Telugu Dandhu also announced plans to be present at the Assembly from the 18th of this month. Hundreds of poets, artists, litterateurs, students, and teachers have pledged to remain at the Assembly premises throughout the session, protesting until the coalition government clearly states its position on protecting the Telugu language. The press conference was attended by Paravastu Suri, Vedula Kameshwara Sharma, Ch. China Suryanarayana, among others.