The Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu underscored the need for writers and litterateurs to promote progressive and positive thinking among the people even while holding a mirror to the happenings in the society.Speaking at an event being organized by Andhra University and Mosaic Sahitya Samsta, in Visakhapatnam today, to mark the conclusion of death centenary of eminent social reformer, Kandukuri Veeresalingam, who was popularly known as Andhra Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Shri Naidu paid glowing tributes to him.The Vice President said that Veeresalingam was forward-looking in his outlook and was ahead of his times and he was against bigotry and superstitious beliefs. He was a strong advocate of widow remarriage, opposed dowry and caste systems as also child marriage and batted for empowering women through education, he added.Shri Naidu said that today’s writers, authors, poets and columnists have a responsibility in promoting modern and reform-oriented thinking among the people, while preserving our culture and heritage. Merely chronicling or recounting events in a society was not enough. Writers should also point to the foibles of the society and suggest correctives, he added.The Vice President said that although the country has made rapid strides in various fields, there were many challenges. Expressing his anguish over instances of social and gender discrimination, he called upon writers to be in the forefront in the fight against social evils and in bringing about an attitudinal change among the people. They should must work for promoting cohesion in the society and not divisiveness, he added.Stressing the need for protecting and preserving native languages, the Vice President urged intellectuals, educationists and journalists also to strive towards promoting progressive thinking and bringing about an attitudinal change among the people to eliminate social evils.The Vice President unveiled a portrait of Shri Kandukuri Veeresalingam painted by Shri Rayana Giridhar Goud and released a book 'Kandukuri Smritilahari' (death centenary edition) compiled by the Coordinator of Kandukuri Satavardanthi, Shri T. Sanjeeva Rao on this occasion. He also felicitated Shri T. Sanjeeva Rao on this occasion.The Vice Chancellor of Andhra University, Col. Prof. G. Nageswara Rao, the Director, Indian Institute of Management, Visakhapatnam, Prof. M. Chandrasekhar, Sahitya Academy Awardee, Shri L.R. Swamy, the Coordinator of Kandukuri Satavardanthi, Shri T. Sanjeeva Rao and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.