Vice President M Venkiah Naidu has stressed that there should be no imposition to any language while maintaining that there must also not be opposition to any.
Inaugurating the golden jubilee celebrations of the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) here on Saturday, the Vice President said, "Language should become a catalyst for inclusive development."
He added that the promotion of one language was not tantamount to undermining or opposing other languages.
"Languages must unite us in the cause for inclusive and sustainable development and must not end up as tools to divide us. There should be no imposition of any language nor should there be opposition to any language," the Vice President noted.
Calling for a multi-pronged approach to preserve and develop Indian languages, Naidu said that it was time to rethink and reinvent the entire language education in our country.
"We must start by making the mother tongue the medium of instruction in schools at least at the primary level or up to 8th grade," he suggested.
The Vice President also advised every state government to make the medium of instruction in mother tongue mandatory up to 5th or 8th grade. He also wanted the state governments to link employment with the native language up to a certain level.
"Every officer must be familiar with the local language," Naidu said.
The Vice President suggested that the signboards on shops, establishments and other institutions must be represented in the local language or any other language of choice.
"In a democracy, especially in a knowledge economy like India, we must not foster the tendency to discriminate between people based upon their ability or inability to speak a particular language," he said.
Emphasising the importance of protecting and conserving India's unique and rich linguistic heritage, the Vice President said it was extremely disheartening to learn that 196 languages of the country are classified as endangered.
"We have to ensure that this number does not increase. We have to protect and preserve our languages and the best and only way is to constantly use them," Naidu said.
He described protecting and preserving Indian languages as true nationalism and patriotism, saying that "languages are the lifeblood of identity and play a significant role in strengthening bonds among people."
( With inputs from ANI )