Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu says children should learn Hindi

Chennai: Vice President Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday emphasised the importance of being proficient in one's mother tongue and said children should also learn Hindi.

"After learning your mother tongue, if you want to learn English no problem, but I must tell you..I know I am in Chennai..(but) children should also learn Hindi," he said.

"It should not be forced at all. Nobody should force any language on anybody," he said.

Tamil Nadu has a long political history of opposition to alleged "Hindi imposition," by the Central government.

Naidu was addressing students at SRM University's Special Convocation at Kattankolathur in Kancheepuram District near here.

The vice president said though one could do well in their respective states by being proficient in their respective mother tongue, for a national level role, he said Hindi should be learnt. "Otherwise you cannot become acceptable at the national level," he said.

Narrating his own experience, Naidu said when he went to New Delhi he realised that he could not learn effective Hindi in his student days as he had participated in anti-Hindi agitation then.

"We went to streets saying Hindi down down," he recalled.

Stating that he alongwith others had smeared tar on Hindi letters, he said he realised that he had in fact painted his face with tar (by not learning Hindi) and not the post office box with Hindi letters.