Bengaluru: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday called for according equal respect to all languages and emphasised that no language should either be imposed or opposed.

Addressing an online event organised to mark 'Hindi Divas -2020', he said all Indian languages have rich history and people should be proud of the country's language diversity and cultural heritage.

Noting that Mahatma Gandhi had founded the Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha in 1918, the vice president emphasised that Hindi and other Indian languages should be seen as complementary to each other.

Naidu suggested that students from non-Hindi speaking states should learn the language and those from Hindi speaking states should learn one more Indian language such as Tamil, Telugu or Kannada so as to increase goodwill, love and affection among the citizens.

Expressing happiness over the importance given to mother tongue in the New Education Policy-2020, the vice president called for providing education in mother tongue for inclusive learning.

"This helps the children in learning and understanding the subject better and they are able to express themselves better", he said.

Noting that education in mother tongue would necessitate the easy availability of good books in Hindi and other Indian languages, Naidu said publishing houses will have an important role in this.

Underlining the need for all Indian languages to grow together, Naidu called upon the publishers and educators to work for enhancing dialogue between languages.