Every Indian should learn one South Indian language, says Union Minister Chouhan

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan (file image)

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday advocated learning at least one South Indian language and said he was trying to learn a South Indian language.

Speaking at a mega farmer seminar on "sustainable tree-based agriculture" held under the aegis of the Isha Foundation here, he said, "every Indian should learn at least one South Indian language. I will also try to learn one."

Chouhan, who holds the Farmers Welfare and Rural Development portfolios too, said inspired by the experiences of spiritual leader Jaggi Vasudev, efforts would be made to formulate a policy on "tree-based agriculture."

"At present, the Isha Foundation is actively promoting tree-based agricultural systems with immense potential for ecological restoration and farmer prosperity. Under the guidance of Sadhguru, we will continue to encourage and create awareness among farmers to adopt these practices and become active partners in nature conservation," he said in a post on the social media platform 'X.'

He said Jaggi Vasudev's Save Soil movement underscored that healthy soil was vital for life, food security, and climate resilience, with regenerative farming restoring balance between humanity and nature.

At the event, Jaggi Vasudev pressed for policy corrections to liberate farmers from restrictive controls.

“Farming should be liberated from government control,” he said and called for the need to clearly differentiate between the produce grown on agricultural land and that grown in forests.

“Whatever the farmer grows on his land should belong to the farmer,” he said and urged the Union Agriculture Minister to remove roadblocks that prevented farmers from selling trees grown on their own land.