Vice President Venkaiah Naidu has said that with social and other tensions increasing in this strife-torn world, peace is the most essential prerequisite for humanity's progress and the foundation of the South Asian Institute of Peace and Reconciliation shows a ray of hope. Mr. Naidu is addressing a gathering on the inauguration function of the South-Asian Institute of Peace and Reconciliation in Dev Sanskriti University in Haridwar today. He said that India is a land of peace and that the simple cardinal principle for everyone to remember is 'one cannot pay attention if there is tension'. It is true for everyone, be it an individual or society at large.<br />''<br />''Addressing the gathering, Mr. Naidu extolled the virtues of mother language. He said that we, as a nation must go back to our roots, know our own greatness, and understand the trove of treasures in our Vedas. He told that he studied in mother language, and reached till the post of Vice President. He gave the examples of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Justice of India NV Ramanna who studied in mother languages and reached high posts. Vice President said that he wants to see all government orders, school education, all court matters, and arguments in court including judgments, inter-personal communications carried out in their respective mother tongues.<br />''<br />''Mr. Naidu said that South Asian countries share many civilizational values that are rooted in our common history. While nurturing and strengthening our common civilizational bonds, we must also remain alive to linguistic, ethnic, and cultural diversities in the region, which showcase the core values of tolerance and peaceful coexistence. Invoking the principle of Vasudev Kutumbakam, he said that in spite of speaking different languages, we all are part of the same family, the entire world is one. He said that the South-Asian Institute of Peace and Reconciliation will follow the same principles and spread knowledge, values of tolerance, peace, and Indian culture all over the world. He said that India has been a 'Vishwa guru' and today also the world is following the principles of Swami Vivekanand and Gandhiji. He said that with the help of the South-Asian Institute of Peace and Reconciliation, India will attain its rightful place by disseminating Indian culture and the values of peace. Terming tolerance as the essence of our civilization, he said that we must respect everybody's views. He said that as the spiritual capital of the world, we should continue to spread the values of peace and tolerance of our civilization. The Vice President also inspect Asia's first Baltic Centre.<br />''<br />''<br />