VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has defended learning Hindi language. “While today we are all talking about why we should learn Hindi, former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao mastered 17 languages embodying India’s rich cultural diversity,” he said.
Naidu said this aspect of Rao’s life serves as an inspiration in today’s context, where language has increasingly become a subject of debate. He didn’t just learn Hindi but other languages too, and that’s how he became a great man, Naidu said while delivering a lecture on ‘The Life and Legacy of PV Narasimha Rao’ at the Prime Ministers Museum and Library in New Delhi on Tuesday.
The Chief Minister paid rich tributes to the former Prime Minister praising his intellect, reformist zeal, and his profound contributions to India’s political and economic landscape.
He recalled the warm and respectful relationship between himself and Rao. “I had a very good equation with him, and knew him very well. The Telugu community is proud of him. He was a true Telugu Bidda who reshaped the destiny of our great nation,” he said.
Naidu emphasised that Rao was among the rare leaders with firsthand experience navigating India’s socio-economic and political challenges, both before and after economic liberalisation. “Rao was a student leader, a freedom fighter, and a prolific scholar,” he added.
Praising the political acumen of Rao, he noted that despite leading a minority government, he achieved the near-impossible by forging consensus among socialists, Communists, and capitalists alike. He highlighted Rao’s pivotal role in ending the Licence Raj, welcoming foreign investment, and setting the stage for India’s IT revolution in the mid-1990s. “Thanks to his reforms, India overcame its balance of payments crisis, opened up its economy, and set the stage for future growth,” he said.
Naidu reflected on the IT boom that followed economic liberalisation and credited Rao for enabling India’s first-mover advantage. He emphasised India’s strength in its demographic dividend, stating, “All countries are facing ageing problems. India has youngsters. I am 100% confident that India will become a global leader,” he said, noting that economic reforms, demographic dividend, and first mover advantage in IT continue to be India’s biggest strengths.