New Delhi

Indian languages are unifying force and have stood the test of time despite attempts of destroying them, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Tuesday.

Pradhan made the comments while releasing 55 scholarly volumes in classical Indian languages, including interpretation of Tirukkural in Sign Language.

"Our languages are a unifying force. Indian languages have stood the test of time despite the attempts to destroy them. India is the mother of democracy and also a country of immense linguistic diversity. It should be our responsibility to ensure that our historical, cultural and literary wealth is preserved and future generations made aware of," he said.

The minister noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emphasised that all Indian languages are national languages.

Pradhan released 41 literary works developed by the Centres of Excellence for Classical Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Odia. He also released 13 books along with a 45-episode Sign Language interpretation series of the Tirukkural by the Central Institute of Classical Tamil (CICT).

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"These literary works in Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Odia, Tamil and Sign Language is a part of our larger national effort to place India’s linguistic heritage at the centre of education, research and cultural pride.

"From including more languages in the scheduled list to translation of classical texts in Indian languages to encouraging education in Indian languages, our government has worked extensively to strengthen and promote all Indian languages," Pradhan said.