Indian culture giving divine status to the ‘alphabet’ in Vedas is an indication of the importance it gives to books and literature, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said in Vijayawada on Monday.
Inaugurating the 29th Vijayawada Book Festival, he said books are our good friends and good books raise our living standards.
"When we are in trouble, they (books) show the way. Those who are well-educated, they are highly regarded in the society... and opening a book means opening a new world," Naidu said.
He also said that books must “contribute to social awakening”.
“Improved rate of literacy and income levels are expected to lead to an increase in publication (of books) in the country. But we should look into the qualitative and quantitative aspect…How many of these publications are imparting knowledge on our history, culture and traditions and how many are contributing to social awakening? There should be a discussion on how many of these publications are misleading the society,” he was quoted as saying.
The Vice President said that even women in the Vedic times are equally involved in writing books and Gargi, Maitreya and others have written several works.
He further said that there are many female writers right from the Buddhist era to Tamil Sangam era. In the Vaishnava tradition, there are even Dalits and women among Alwars who wrote books.
He also said that cinema, music and other forms of art promote peace and tranquility.
The Vice President expressed happiness at the fact that the Andhra Pradesh government has dedicated the year 2018 for Telugu language protection.
“We can preserve our culture and tradition through language only. We have to prevent the deterioration of Telugu language. I declare this year as Telugu language development year,” Naidu said.
Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.
The annual book festival in Vijayawada is organised by the city’s Book Festival Society and supported by the Andhra Pradesh government.
IANS inputs