Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu Saturday underlined the need for writers and litterateurs to promote progressive and positive thinking among the people even while holding a mirror to the happenings in society.
Speaking at an event to mark the valedictory of the death centenary of noted social reformer Kandukuri Veeresalingam, organised here by Andhra University and Mosaic Sahitya Sansta, Naidu said he (Veeresalingam) was forward looking in his outlook and was against bigotry and superstitious beliefs.
He was a strong advocate of widow remarriage, opposed the dowry and caste system as also child marriage and batted for empowering women through education, the Vice President added.
Veeresalingam was popularly known as Andhra Raja Ram Mohan Roy, he said.
Naidu said writers, authors, columnists can change the mindset of the people through their progressive writing and can help remove disparities and evils in society.
Stressing the need for protecting and preserving native languages, Naidu urged intellectuals, educationists and journalists to strive towards promoting progressive thinking and bringing about an attitudinal change among the people to eliminate social evils.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)