India’s vice president has labelled the English language a “disease” left behind by British coloniers.
Venkaiah Naidu’s comments were made during a speech calling for Hindi to be the nation’s official language.
Addressing an event on Hindi Divas – the day when the Hindi language is celebrated – the politician called on his fellow nationals to relinquish the English language.
“This disease that English left behind, we should rid ourselves of this disease,” he said at the event in New Delhi organised by the Union Home ministry.
He instead promoted the spread of Hindi, as the “the symbol of socio-political and linguistic unity of the country”.
Naidu stressed that speaking in one’s mother tongue is what makes people connect and emphasise.
Claiming language and emotions “go together”, Naidu said: “If you want to reach out to people…understand them, then you have to properly express your emotions.
“That’s why one should speak in one’s mother tongue at home,” the Vice President said.
He acknowledged that all Indian languages are vibrant and called for literary text in regional languages to be translated into Hindi.
Appreciating foreign officials landing in India and adopting their own language, he said: “When the Chinese President came here he spoke in his mother tongue.
“The Iranian President, a PhD in English, also spoke in his mother tongue when he was here. One should never forget their mother tongue,” he added.
