The Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu called for writing the history with Indian perspective and Indian values saying that, ‘British historians never accepted 1857 as first war for Independence, and tried to portray it merely as ‘sepoy mutiny’. Elaborating further, Shri Naidu said that the Britishers had their own vested interests to exploit India and History became a tool for them to achieve this aim. He also said that our education system should also reflect Indian culture and traditions. The Vice President made these remarks while addressing the students from Delhi Tamil Students Association in New Delhi today.Highlighting the fact that more than 19,500 languages or dialects are spoken in India as mother tongues, Shri Naidu emphasised the need for cherishing this rich language heritage. “India is a blessed country to have so many living languages and we should be proud of it”, he said. He also said that every child should get basic schooling in his/her mother tongue. This will not only result in better learning outcomes but also go a long way in preservation of our languages, he added.
The Vice President described the students as the future leaders of country and said that they should not only excel in their studies, but also remain alive to the issues facing the Nation. He asked students not to confine their learning to classrooms only and advised them to spend time outside, especially in the lap of nature. ‘Nature helps you become a better person … a considerate human being who is sensitive to the smallest creature,’ he said stressing the need to adopt a sustainable path of development.Shri Naidu also asked students to remain physically fit by taking active interest in sports. He said that increasing burden of non-communicable diseases was mainly due to lifestyle changes and younger generation should be made aware of health benefits of traditional Indian food and Yoga. He appealed to youth to spread the message of Fit India Movement launched by the Prime Minister far and wide.Recalling that once upon a time India was known as Viswa Guru, the Vice President said that India should once again become a Vishwa Guru and the hub of innovation and knowledge. For that to happen, he suggested transformative reforms in education system to prepare students to effectively face the challenges of the 21st century. He also asked students to keep in mind the mantra of ‘India First’ in their future endeavours.