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dated April 17, 1956: Rajendra Prasad's appeal

The President, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, has cautioned that there could be no question of any antagonism or inherent opposition among the various regional languages of the country. Addressing the second All-India Punjabi Conference in New Delhi on April 15, he said, "All these languages are like one family, known collectively as Indian literature. Each one of these languages is important and each one of them adds to the glory and enrichment of Indian literature. Each one of them has its own peculiarities and its own regional literature. Their mutual bonds are so strong that it is not possible to understand the origin and growth of any one of them without appreciating the development of the other languages." Dr. Prasad said that India was a very big country in which the followers of many religions and speakers of many languages lived. "There is ample scope here for various linguistic groups to develop their respective languages and literature in an atmosphere of perfect freedom. Let me hope all the Indian languages will continue to develop and thus contribute to the liquidation of ignorance and literacy prevalent in our country." The President said that there had been complete freedom in the country not only of thought but also of language. There might have been differences or clashes between State and State due to many causes but the issue of language had never been one of those causes. In the midst of political turmoil and the changing fortunes of various kingdoms, one after another, the Indian languages continued to grow. Not only this, proof could be adduced to show that the process of give and take among these languages had throughout continued.

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