Hyderabad: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu today said children in schools should be taught in their respective mother tongues in order to make them aware of the importance of the language.

Speaking at the inaugural function of World Telugu Conference-2017 (WTC) which began here today, the Vice President also lauded the Telugu literary works of former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao, a native of Telangana.

“There is a need to emphasise on Telugu language from childhood itself. Children should be taught about the beauty of Telugu language. There is nothing wrong in learning other languages. But we should not forget to use our mother tongue also,” Naidu said.

He said there are ample evidence to prove that Telugu is an ancient language as inscriptions dating back to 2 AD were found in the South Indian language.

Naidu added that television, media and cinema also played an important role in preserving the language.

Showering praise on Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao for making Telugu compulsory up to class 12, Naidu said government business should also be conducted in the native language.

Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao said Telugu is the second-most spoken language in India after Hindi.

He also urged the Telangana chief minister to take necessary steps to make sure the language is preserved in other states where the Telugu-speaking diaspora is located.

Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Governor ESL Narasinhan, who spoke in Telugu, said these kind of conferences would help protect the language.

Chief Minister Rao said his government is committed to the development of the language.

The five-day WTC will conclude on December 19 and President Ram Nath Kovind is expected to attend it on that day.

As many as 8,000 delegates, including some from 42 foreign countries, are participating in seminars and literary meetings as part of the WTC.