Hyderabad, April 13 -- State irrigation and civil supplies minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Saturday said the Congress government is committed to promoting the Urdu language and protecting the rights of minorities in Telangana.

Speaking at the 8th Nawab Shah Alam Khan Memorial Mushaira at Anwar-ul-Uloom College, Mallepally, the minister announced a special recruitment drive to fill all Urdu teacher vacancies. "Urdu will receive the institutional support, respect, and recognition it deserves," he said.

"I hail from Old City. Urdu was a central force in my upbringing. It is a language of harmony, poetry, and revolution," he said.

He assured continued support to minority educational institutions and said the government has doubled the mino...