Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Thursday said that India is a tolerant nation that has respect for all religions and culture. "In India, tolerance and mutual respect towards all religions is guaranteed under the Constitution," he said. The Governor was addressing a gathering at the Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai on International Mother Language Day.
Purohit pointed out that school students should take up Sanskrit as their third language. "You can ask Sanskrit teachers, it's a very scoring subject. If you want a good score in your boards, Sanskrit is the way to go," said Purohit. "Language is the most powerful instrument preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritage," he added.
The Governor said that during the last 16 months that he has spent in Tamil Nadu he has been exposed to the fascinating aspects of Tamil literature. "I came across the Tirukural that was written thousands of years ago and talks about the Tamil way of life. I have learnt a lot from Tamil Nadu and its culture."
Educationist Dr Va Ve Subramanian said that love for one's mother tongue is a great thing but people should also learn to embrace other languages. "I think there should be an award for the student who knows languages," he said. "It would be great if every Tamilian could declare that they know a bunch of other languages as well," he added.
VIT Chancellor Dr G Viswanathan said that more Indian languages should be taught at higher education institutions, "We teach our students a hoard of foreign languages so that they do not have any difficulties when they venture abroad. We are planning to start teaching other languages as well," he added. Commenting on the education sector he said that India needs to invest in education more. "Education should be free for all, irrespective of which school they go to (public or private). We allocate way fewer funds for education than is needed," he added
