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The Sanskrit non-controversy: Why it is

indeed a superior language
Rajeev Srinivasan Nov 20, 2014 16:01 IST
#Angela Merkel #german #Germany #India #InMyOpinion #Kendriya Vidyalayas #Panini #Sanskrit

424 Comments

5976

40

There is an unfortunate hoo-haa about German and Sanskrit in Kendriya Vidyalayas (KV), which is putting a negative spin on generallypositive Indo-German relations. It has even prompted German Chancellor Angela Merkel to question whether their language is being
disrespected in India. Which of course is far from the truth, and is a storm in a teacup raised by the usual malign suspects in the media.
Best to consider the forest (the desirability of Indo-German ties) over the trees (an ill-advised, illegal move by the UPA in 2011 to mess
with the three-language formula, and its inevitable reversal now).
For several reasons, I find the fuss baffling. First, this is merely the reversal of an ill-considered and harmful therefore typical UPA
step, dissing Indian tradition and replacing it with something European. Second, there is considerable value to Sanskrit that most of us
are unaware of, especially if you look at the technical aspects of formal language theory.
People have thundered that the Sanskrit decision is preventing Indian students from aspiring to go to German universities, which is not
true most university education in Germany is conducted in the medium of English. Besides, if you want to learn German, you can still
opt for it: it is not banished from the KVs.

Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani. Image courtesy PIB

Others have suggested that German is a global language, and therefore they implied Sanskrit is inferior to German. Which is not
quite true: only a fraction of the people even in Europe speak German, and almost all large German companies conduct business in
English. I used to work for Siemens in California, and not knowing German was not a big handicap in communicating with my
colleagues, even when I traveled to Germany.
Others complained that this is a burden on students who have already opted for German, which is true. But then it is only since 2011
that German has been made available in all Kendriya Vidyalayas, replacing Sanskrit.
That is the crux of the matter: German replaced Sanskrit in the entire KV system recently. And why was that? Where was the uproar
when, apparently on a whim, the previous UPA government decided to replace Sanskrit in mid-stream with German? And why German?
Why not Japanese, or Chinese, or Arabic or Spanish, all of which have more commercial and job opportunities for young people? What
was the rationale in choosing German?
The KV system, let us remember, has to be uniform all over the country: you cannot have a different curriculum in different states. Thus,
if you switch languages, it apparently has to be a toggle effect, and teachers who teach X have to switch to teaching Y.
This is precisely what happened under UPA to Sanskrit. Why is nobody asking why the Kabil Sibal-led UPA ministry surreptitiously
swapped Sanskrit out and swapped German in to the curriculum in 2011? Did that not do much damage to the students desirous of
studying Sanskrit? Did it not force Sanskrit teachers to suddenly become German teachers?
Furthermore, did the Sibal coup, of the KVs signing an MoU with the Goethe Institute of the Max Mueller Bhavan in 2011, violate the
hitherto sacrosanct Three Language Formula, which many of us have been forced into? Growing up in Kerala, according to this formula,
my first language (yes, first!) language was mandated to be Hindi, my second language was English, and my third was Malayalam.
In fact, I could have avoided learning Malayalam altogether, because we had a choice of French, Tamil, Sanskrit and so on as optional
third languages. So why is it not acceptable if the KVs now offer German as an optional, not a compulsory language? If there is enough
demand, the schools will find enough German teachers: that is called the free market, supply /demand, Economics 101.
The Three Language Formula suggested Hindi, English and (preferably) a South Indian language for Hindi speaking students, and
Hindi, English, and the regional language for non-Hindi speaking students. The whole idea was to force national integration, Congressstyle. Whether that did so is questionable, but certainly introducing German (or French or Chinese or Japanese) would be unlikely to do
any national integration. So ipso facto the idea of bringing in German is against the law, because German is not a regional language in
India.
Now, I am quite a fan of the Germans, because of their diligence and methodical nature, but that doesnt necessarily translate into a
fondness for German, which is a bit difficult. I had to study technical German at IIT Madras, and all I remember now is The chemische
industrie produziert synthetische stoffe. German and Sanskrit for Indians are like apples and oranges.
I contended elsewhere in 2000 that a language has five possible reasons for it to be valuable to a populace:
A transactional language
A literary language
A liturgical language
A cultural language
A conquering language

German would be a transactional language or lingua franca with only a limited set of people: Germans, some Swiss, some Dutch, I
believe. It is a good literary language, but it does not jell greatly with the Indian ethos. It is clearly not a liturgical language.
A cultural language is one that resonates with the culture of the people: for instance, if you read Guenter Grasss magnificent works such
as The Tin Drum and The Flounder, you can see it is replete with details of the history, the cuisine, and even the crops and fish of
Kashubia (a land I have never read about elsewhere) and specifically of Danzig, now Gdansk.
English is the typical conquering language, which is imposed on (and eventually, as is evident, internalized by) the conquered as in
India, Ireland, Scotland, and elsewhere. Germans didnt conquer India, so it is not a conquering language either.
If you look at Sanskrit carefully, you can see that it is many of the above: a lingua franca for most of Indias history, undoubtedly the
greatest literary language of India and almost certainly of the entire classical world, the liturgical language of Hindus, and the cultural
language that links the conceptual entity of Bharat.
Was Sanskrit also a conquering language? Some, still harboring notions about the Aryan Invasion Fantasy, would say so, but it is
increasingly evident that it was the language of the natives, not imported by some "Aryans thundering down the Khyber Pass in their
horse-drawn chariots" in the bizarre imaginations of certain "eminent historians" who are past their shelf-lives. One of the (intentional)
mistakes people make is in imagining that Sanskrit was only a Hindu liturgical language. Far from it. As this tweet suggests, the body of
non-religious literature in Sanskrit, including everything from texts for metallurgy to off-color jokes about bodily functions, is immense.
For instance there was the beautiful erotic poetry written by one Dharmakirti; it turned out the same Dharmakirti was a severe Buddhist
logician!
1. retweeted
Hashmi Shams Tabreed @hstabreed
Critics of Sanskrit hate it for its religious association not realizing its richness. Music, Science, Arts Sanskrit Literature has it all
Sanskrits other claim to fame is that it is the most scientific human language of all time. I will have to delve into my computer science
background and formal language theory to explain this. I have heard people say, "XYZ says Sanskrit is the best language to do Artificial
Intelligence with" or words to that effect. This is not strictly speaking true: for AI, you need logic-based languages such as LISP or
Prolog.
Paninian or Classical Sanskrit (as contrasted with Vedic Sanskrit) is the most refined and precise human language ever invented. It has
an astonishing property known as a "context-free grammar", and so far as I know, it is the only human language that has ever had this.
Context-free means that the language is utterly unambiguous, and every sentence in it can be derived precisely from a set of rules. In
Paninian Sanskrit, as embodied in the Ashtadhyayi, there are 3959 rules.
Its context-free nature comes from an audacious attempt by Panini to encapsulate the infinite variety of expression in language in a
finite number of rules. Even now, it is difficult to imagine that somebody, 2,500 years ago, had the chutzpah to attempt to condense
infinity into a finite set of rules. This idea could have only arisen in ancient India, with its familiarity with the mathematical notion of
infinity.
This idea, that Panini codified, was independently re-discovered in the 1950s by IBM engineers, as they tried to figure out a way to
communicate with computers. What they needed was to find a way to instruct computers in totally unambiguous fashion. So Backus and
Naur came up with context-free grammars (there was some work by Noam Chomsky at MIT in this area), and lo and behold, they were
astonished to find out Panini had anticipated them by two and a half millennia!
The human-programmable computer languages that exist today, say C++ or Java or Ruby, can be described precisely in a few hundred
rules. This precision allows these languages (and Paninian Sanskrit) to be lexically analyzed by a parser, which can then create a
semantic tree structure that encodes the underlying 'meaning' of the statement (or program). That semantic tree than then be translated
precisely into machine code (binary, ie 0 and 1, or hexadecimal, ie 16 characters, 0123456789ABCDEF) which will then run on the
machine.The above is what compilers do the programs that translate human-readable languages into the incomprehensible machine
code (or slightly less obscure Assembly Language) that machines can understand. I worked on compiler construction for several years,
and they are among the most sophisticated software in regular use.
So what exactly does "context-free" mean? It means that the meaning doesnt depend on contextual knowledge or common sense.
Obviously human languages are context-sensitive: you just have to know certain things as a user of the language or else you will be
confused. Here is an example of two sentences in English:
1. Fruit flies like an apple
2. Time flies like an arrow
The two sentences are lexically identical, but to the human reader, based on contextual knowledge, they are vastly different. But to a
computer, which has no context, they are identical. If the computer is fed the first and told that fruit flies are a kind of fly and that apples
are fruits, it will create certain semantic model. Then, when given the second sentence, it will conclude that 'time flies' are a kind of fly
and that arrows are fruits!

It is essentially impossible to write such ambiguous sentences in Paninian Sanskrit. That is one of the reasons why word order doesn't
matter in Paninian Sanskrit, as it does in English (imagine "Rama killed Ravana" and "Ravana killed Rama" as examples).
That someone millennia ago was able to conceptualize, and even more astonishingly, create a Grand Unified Theory of Language is
simply stunning. Let us note that even a widely acknowledged genius like Albert Einsten failed to come up with a Grand Unified Theory
of Physics, even though he tried hard. Arguably, Paninis successful effort then was the greatest accomplishment of a single mind in all of
recorded history: creating something so advanced that it took 2500 years to figure out how to use it!
There is another reason for the perfection of Sanskrit, and that is the logical nature of Devanagari. There is no other alphabet that so
scientifically orders different sound families horizontally, and the associated types (dental, retroflex etc.) horizontally. Just consider the
Roman script it has a randomly assembled set of sounds, in no particular order, in stark contrast to the rigorous order of Devanagari.
Many of us have studied another rigorously ordered scientific table that has horizontal families and vertical variants or types: that is the
Periodic Table of Elements of Mendeleev, which was also so advanced that he was able to group the elements and suggest that there
were gaps where new elements, yet to be discovered, belonged. The resemblance is no coincidence: Mendeelev was strongly influenced
by Devanagari, and he acknowledged as much in his terminology.
Where there were gaps, he would call the missing, to-be-discovered elements eka-boron, or dvi-silicon or tria-carbon, consciously using
the Sanskrit words for one, two, three etc. Later, these anticipated elements were indeed discovered and given new names. So heres an
example of what Rajiv Malhotra might call "digestion" of Indic ideas into western memes, although, to be fair, there is indirect credit.
From several points of view, thus, Sanskrit is not only the one candidate that deserves to be the national language much as Israelis
resurrected the once-moribund Hebrew but it is by many measures the most perfect language ever invented: truly samskrt or civilized.
There should be no reason to fuss even if it is imposed; much less when it is merely being put back into the syllabus where it used to be.

Sanskrit fever grips Germany: 14 universities teaching India's ancient

language struggle to meet demand as students clamour for courses
By ADITYA GHOSH
PUBLISHED: 22:24 GMT, 14 April 2015 | UPDATED: 22:24 GMT, 14 April 2015

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Will Germans be the eventual custodians of Sanskrit, its rich heritage and culture? If the demand for Sanskrit and Indology courses in Germany is any indication, thats
what the future looks like.
Unable to cope with the flood of applications from around the world, the South Asia Institute, University of Heidelberg, had to start a summer school in spoken Sanskrit in
Switzerland, Italy and - believe it or not - India too.
When we started it 15 years ago, we were almost ready to shut it after a couple of years. Instead, we had to increase strength and take the course to other European
countries, said Professor Dr. Axel Michaels, head of classical Indology at the university.

+3
The summer school in spoken Sanskrit at the South Asia Institute, University of Heidelberg, is attended by students from all over the world

In Germany, 14 of the top universities teach Sanskrit, classical and modern Indology compared to just four in the UK. The summer school spans a month in August every
year and draws applications from across the globe.
So far, 254 students from 34 countries have participated in this course. Every year we have to reject many applications, said Dr. Michaels.
Apart from Germany, the majority of students come from the US, Italy, the UK and the rest of Europe.

Professor Dr. Axel Michaels, Head of Classical Indology at the University of Heidelberg, says students from 34 countries have taken the course

Linking Sanskrit with religion and a certain political ideology was stupid and detrimental to the cause of its rich heritage, the professor said.
Even the core thoughts of Buddhism were in the Sanskrit language. To better understand the genesis of oriental philosophy, history, languages, sciences and culture, its
essential to read the original Sanskrit texts as these are some of the earliest thoughts and discoveries, he added.
Francesca Lunari, a medical student who has been studying Sanskrit at Heidelberg University, agreed.
I am interested in psychoanalysis and must know how human thoughts originated through texts, cultures and societies. I will learn Bangla also to decipher the seminal
works of Girindra Sekhar Bose, a pioneer of oriental psychiatry who has hardly been studied even in India. Learning Sanskrit is the first step, she said.
Languages such as Bangla, in which Bose had written his theories challenging Freud, might face a crisis similar to Sanskrit because of the onslaught of English if these
languages arent preserved within households, felt Dr Hans Harder, head of the department of modern South Asian languages and literatures (modern Indology),
Heidelberg University.
A significant part of the global cultural heritage will become extinct if major languages like Hindi and Bangla fall prey to Indian English which, in the process, has only got
poorer, he added.
An expert in Bangla, Hindi and Urdu apart from European languages, Harder cautioned against such a disaster as more upwardly mobile families stop teaching their own
language to their children.
Studying ethno-Indology helps contextualise and link subjects to ancient texts.
One can better understand evolution of politics and economics by studying Arthashastra by Chanakya, said Dr. Michaels.
So this semester the institute is offering a course on human physiology and psychology in the early Upanishads by Anand Mishra, an IIT mathematics graduate who took
up the study of Sanskrit for his research on evolving a more grammatically suitable computing language.

+3
PM Narendra Modi with German Chancellor Angela Merkel

Working on Paninis Sanskrit grammar, I realised it could be a great tool in computing language, said Mishra.
Dr. Michaels feels that instead of indulging in a political and religious debate, Indians should try to preserve their heritage.
Dont we conserve a rare, old painting or sculpture? This is a live languageand rich cultural heritage which might become the casualty of neglect just as great
civilisations like Hampi, the art of Ajanta and temples of Konark got buried in oblivion. It was up to the British to discover them later. Sanskrit, along with its culture,
philosophy and science might become similarly extinct, he claimed, adding: On the other hand, there is so much yet to discover through Sanskritdetails of Indus Valley
civilisation, for example.
Germany has already been a storehouse of Sanskrit scholars to the world.
The majority of Sanskrit scholars, including those at Harvard, California Berkeley and the UK, are Germans, he said.
But why?
Probably because we never colonised India and maintained a romantic view about it, quipped Dr. Michaels.

'Language cannot shake secularism'

India's secularism is not so weak that it will be shaken just because of a language, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said in the backdrop of a row over Sanskrit
replacing German in government-run schools in India.
Addressing a reception for the Indian community on Monday, Modi referred to a time decades ago, when German radio had a news bulletin in Sanskrit.
In India, there was no news bulletin in Sanskrit at that time because perhaps it was thought that secularism would be endangered, the prime minister said.
Modi said Indias secularism is not so weak that it will be shaken just because of a language. One should have self-confidence.
Self-confidence should not be shaken, he added.
The prime minister did not elaborate, but his veiled comments assume significance as these came months after a row over replacing of German as third language in
government-run Kendirya Vidyalaya schools with Sanskrit. -PTI

Experts bat for Sanskrit in schools

By Mail Today Bureau in New Delhi
Even as the row over replacing German with Sanskrit in Kendriya Vidyalays partly resurfaced in far away in Berlin, educationists back home feel that it is very important to
introduce Sanskrit at the school level to enable students have a better understanding of the subject.
Sanskrit is an essential part of every Indian soul. Without the language, the society loses its identity. From Raja Ram Mohan Roy to Mahatma Gandhi, everyone was
inspired by the language. The whole renaissance period was based on Sanskrit literature, Professor Ramesh Bharadwaj, head of the Sanskrit department at Delhi
University, told Mail Today.

+3
Educationists feel it is important to introduce Sanskrit at school level as it will enable students to have a better understanding of the subject

Historians, meanwhile, feel that successive governments have taken no initiatives to promote the language among the people.
The central and state governments, which came to power after Independence, have not extended their support to the language. Our country is known for its culture,
religion and philosophical ideas. One cannot treat religious sentiments and Sanskrit separately, Bharadwaj added.
Recently, the Human Resources Development (HRD) ministrys internal enquiry into the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Germany, making German the third
language in Kendriya Vidyalayas, has revealed that neither the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sanghathan (KVS) nor the ministry realised that the move was a violation of the threelanguage formula.
According to the three-language formula, schools are required to teach Hindi, English and a modern Indian language in schools. Sanskrit, however, is said to be a popular
option in northern states.
We want all Indian languages to be promoted because only five to six per cent of people in India understand English. Most of them, even today, work in their regional
language. No other language can be understood if there is no proper understanding of Sanskrit, the HoD of the Sanskrit department said.
Meanwhile, while on his tour to Germany, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Indias secularism is not so weak that it could be shaken because of a language.
Experts feel that Modis statement is in accordance with the Indian Constitution. Though Modi did not elaborate on the issue, his comments are being seenin context with
his governments decision to replace German with Sanskrit in over 500 schools.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-3038926/Sanskrit-fever-grips-Germany-14-universities-teaching-India-s-ancient-language-struggle-meet-demand-students-clamourcourses.html#ixzz4AUbB4YK9
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Indian village where people speak in Sanskrit

22 December 2014

From the sectionIndia

Image captionToday, 150 of the 400 students in the local Sri Sharada Vilasa school study Sanskrit as their first language
A village in the southern state of Karnataka where most residents speak Sanskrit is in focus at a time when the Indian
government's insistence on promoting the ancient language has sparked a debate over the role it plays in the lives of
people in the country now. The BBC Hindi's Imran Qureshi reports from the village.
Mattur, in Shimoga district, about 300km (186 miles) from the state capital, Bangalore, appears quite oblivious of the raging debate in
India over the recent government order to replace German with Sanskrit in central schools.
Here, ordinary shopkeepers and agricultural labourers speak in Sanskrit - or at least understand it. Most children too speak the language
fluently.
The phrases most heard on the streets here are "katham aasthi" (Sanskrit for how are you?) and "aham gachchami" (I am going).
Professor MB Srinidhi, a resident of Mattur, says the current controversy is unnecessary.
"Just like the European languages are spoken in Europe, we also need to speak in Sanskrit. The interesting aspect is that Sanskrit is a
language that will help in understanding not just Indian languages but also German or French," he told BBC Hindi.
Sanskrit belongs to the Indo-Aryan group of languages and is the root of many Indian languages.
In ancient India, it was the main language used by scholars and was sometimes referred to as devabhasha - the language of gods.

Image captionAgricultural labour Chitra says although she cannot speak Sanskrit, she understands it and her children speak the language
Today, it is spoken by less than 1% of Indians and is mostly used by Hindu priests during religious ceremonies.
Until the early 1980s, villagers in Mattur spoke the state's regional language, Kannada, as well as Tamil because of the large number of
labourers who settled here centuries ago from the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu.
"Then there was a movement in favour of Sanskrit. Sanskrit had been criticised as the language of the [upper caste] Brahmins and
suddenly displaced from the pedestal with Kannada," said Prof Srinidhi.
"The priest of [the local religious centre] Pejawar Mutt gave a call to make Mattur a Sanskrit-speaking village. It took just two hours daily
for 10 days for the entire village to start conversing in Sanskrit," he added.
Since then, Sanskrit is being spoken not just by the Sankethi Brahmins of the 3,500-strong village, but also by communities from the
socially and economically underprivileged sections of society.
Sankethis are a small community of Brahmins who originally came from the neighbouring state of Kerala and settled down here centuries
ago.
There are only around 35,000 Sankethis in India and their language - also called Sankethi - is a mix of Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam and
some bits of Telugu.
Today, 150 of the 400 students in the local Sri Sharada Vilasa school study Sanskrit as the first language, with English as the second
language and Kannada or Tamil or any other regional language as their third language.

Image captionMost people in Mattur speak - or at least understand - Sanskrit

The school's Sanskrit teacher, Ananthakrishna, asks one of his best students, Imran, a question in Sanskrit. "His interest in Sanskrit is
amazing," he explains.
"It helps me understand Kannada better," says Imran.
The influence of Sanskrit is, indeed, strong in Mattur. For housewife Lakshmi Keshava, who normally speaks Sankethi at home, shifting
automatically to Sanskrit when she gets angry with her son or family members is normal.
It's not very different for Tamil-speaking Chitra, an agricultural labour: "We understand Sanskrit. Some of us cannot speak it, but our
children do speak the language."

Image captionSanskrit is offered as an optional language in schools in India

"Sanskrit is a language that teaches you old traditions and values. It's a language of the heart and cannot die," says Sanskrit scholar
Aswathanarayana Avadhani.
Many of Mattur's young have gone abroad to study engineering or medicine and I ask if Sanskrit helps in developing a mindset that aids
understanding other languages, including those used in computer sciences.
Shashank, who runs an IT solutions company in Bangalore, says: "Yes, there is a connect if you delve deep into Sanskrit. Those who have
gone into Vedic mathematics [which dates back to a time in ancient India when Sanskrit was the main language used by scholars] have
certainly got a logical mindset that helps in information technology."
"I have learnt some Vedic maths that has helped me. Others use a calculator when I could just do all that without a calculator."

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Speaking of Sanskrit
Reports of its death are greatly exaggerated
Written by Bibek Debroy
Published:Feb 18, 2016, 0:49

ABOUT AUTHOR

Bibek DebroyThe writer is

member, Niti Aayog. Views are personalread more...

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How many people in India speak Sanskrit? Strictly speaking, we dont know and thats not because relevant tables for Census 2011 arent yet ready.
We dont know because we dont ask. The census primarily asks a question about mother tongue. Pre-Independence, in Census 1891, parent
tongue was also used. But its mother tongue now. The number of people who reported Sanskrit as their mother tongue in censuses was 2,212 in
1971, 6,106 in 1981, 49,736 in 1991 and 14,135 in 2001. Sanskrit is not a non-Scheduled language. Its one of the languages in the Eighth Schedule
and is also an official language in Uttarakhand. There are people who would probably like to proclaim it a dead language.
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Dead is an imprecise term, in the context of languages. But languages do become extinct, when there are no surviving speakers, and globalisation
and language shifts have encouraged the pace of death. Will we proclaim the death of Sanskrit according to mother tongue? With the 1971 to the
2001 numbers I have cited, any statistician worth his/ her salt will sense theres something exceedingly wrong with those figures, though its
conceivably possible 35,000 Sanskrit speakers sought linguistic asylum in Germany, or wherever the language is encouraged. By the way, in 2001,
roughly half of those 14,135 with Sanskrit as their mother tongue were in Uttar Pradesh, which seems fair enough. However, there was one such
strange individual in Arunachal Pradesh and another one in Meghalaya. More importantly, we will get data on Sanskrit-speaking abilities of Indians
not from mother tongue but from other languages known. The data we collect on that is even more unsatisfactory. For Census 2001, look at the
household schedule and check question No 11. You can list a maximum of two languages and no more. I believe P.V. Narasimha Rao himself spoke
seven Indian languages (including mother tongue) and six foreign ones. I wonder which two he picked.

Forget villages like Mattur or Hosahalli in Karnataka, where everyone speaks Sanskrit. Think of someone who is urban and has a graduate degree,
without Hindi being the mother tongue. If s/he knows Sanskrit, the language basket will probably be mother tongue, English, Hindi and Sanskrit. The
probability of Sanskrit not showing up on census schedules is extremely high. Thats the reason I said we dont know how many people speak
Sanskrit. Therefore, to paraphrase Mark Twain, reports about the death of Sanskrit are greatly exaggerated.

No doubt there are people who wish Sanskrit to die because they dont perceive it to possess value. Theres an infamous quote from Macaulays
Minute upon Indian Education: I have never found one among them (learned men) who could deny that a single shelf of a good European library

was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia. In fairness to Macaulay, that quote is plucked out of context. The context was public
funding and a trade-off between Sanskrit/ Arabic and English-teaching. There isnt necessarily a trade-off, not then and not now.

Most people will probably be aware of Kautilyas Arthashastra, dated to the 2nd or 3th century CE. I wonder how many people know the manuscript
disappeared. R. Shamasastry rediscovered it in 1904. It was published in 1909 and translated into English in 1915. Had Shamasastry not known
Sanskrit, he wouldnt have known that manuscripts worth. Theres a National Mission for Manuscripts (Namami), set up in 2003. This has a
gargantuan task of listing, digitising, publishing and translating manuscripts a manuscript defined as a text more than 75 years old. This manuscript
wealth isnt necessarily in public hands. Hence, surveys are used to estimate whats in private collections. As of now, Namami has a listing/
digitisation of three million and the estimated stock of manuscripts in India is 35 million. There are at least 60,000 manuscripts in Europe and another
1,50,000 elsewhere in South Asia.

Ninety-five per cent of these manuscripts have never been listed, collated and translated. Therefore, we dont know what is in them.

Macaulay could at least blame other learned men. In this day and age, everyone is a bit of an empiricist. Note that two-thirds of these manuscripts are
in Sanskrit. But there are other languages too Arabic and Pali are two examples. Even if the language was Sanskrit, there are instances where we
no longer have people who can read scripts in which that Sanskrit language was written down. Note that knowledge transmission in Sanskrit was
rarely in written form. Writing is of recent vintage. Most transmission of knowledge was oral, and as the gurukul systems and the guru-shishya
tradition collapsed, that knowledge has been irretrievably lost. In a loose sense, this has happened with many branches (shakhas) of sacred texts
(shastras), Vedas and Vedangas included.

Its a strange empiricists argument to hold that Sanskrit has no value to offer without even knowing what 95 per cent of those manuscripts (forget the
lost oral transmission) contain. In a relatively better situation, someone like Manjul Bhargava will come along and remind us of the sulba sutras. In a
relatively inferior situation, we will have to depend on a Sanskrit-speaker from Germany or the US to translate what a specific text contains. Sanskrit
isnt quite dead yet. But if it isnt encouraged and energised, it may well be headed in that direction. How we do it is a subsequent question. First, lets
acknowledge that a problem exists. In Sanskrit, namami means I bow down. That store of knowledge deserves at least this bit of humility.

- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/speakingof-sanskrit-language-situation-of-sanskrit/#sthash.wPo3S5wL.dpuf

Where are the Sanskrit speakers?

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A scholarly discussion on the Vedas, on the banks of the Tunga in Mattur, Karnataka. Photo: Special Arrangement

INFOGRAPHIC
No. of Sanskrit speakers
TOPICS
arts, culture and entertainment
culture (general)

language
Sanskrit

In a country of over a billion people, there are about 14,000 people who claim Sanskrit is their mother tongue, an analysis of Census
numbers reveals.
In a country of over a billion people, there are about 14,000 people who claim Sanskrit is their mother tongue, an analysis of Census numbers reveals.

With the Union government gearing up to celebrate Sanskrit Week, a district-wise profile of the Dev Basha based on Census 2001 numbers (Census 2011
language figures are yet be released) reveal pockets in the heart of Uttar Pradesh, northern Telangana, southern Rajasthan, Nagpur and Haridwar where a
sizeable number of respondents claimed Sanskrit to be their mother tongue.
Sitapur district in Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of speakers, with over 550 people.
Sanskrit has influence without presence
There are almost no Sanskrit speakers in the countrys north-east, the eastern States beyond Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and
Gujarat, according to the Census 2001.
Tamil Nadu is unique because according to the 1921 Census, the Madras province had the highest number of Sanskrit speakers in the country 315 of a total
of 356.
Sanskrit is also the only scheduled language that shows wide fluctuations rising from 6,106 speakers in 1981 to 49,736 in 1991 and then falling dramatically
to 14,135 speakers in 2001.
This fluctuation is not necessarily an error of the Census method. People often switch language loyalties depending on the immediate political climate, says
Prof. Ganesh Devy of the Peoples Linguistic Survey of India.
Census figures reflect the political aspirations or the atmosphere in the country at a given time, he says, highlighting the case of Bhil, a language spoken by
several tribal groups in western India. Between 1991 and 2001, the number of speakers nearly doubled an expression of the aspiration of these people to
carve out a new State for them similar to the creation of Jharkhand in the late 1990s, Devy says.
The number of Bengali speakers, the second highest spoken language after Hindi, is also much higher than the entire population of West Bengal in nearly
every Census over the last 30 years, he says. At least some of this is due to the migratory population from Bangladesh whose original mother tongue is Urdu,
but they claim it is Bengali to enhance their chances of citizenship, he adds.
The Census is thus rather subjective, but it is a very good tool for measuring the political mood of the language communities.
Because some people fictitiously indicate Sanskrit as their mother tongue owing to its high prestige and Constitutional mandate, the Census captures the
persisting memory of an ancient language that is no longer anyones real mother tongue, says B. Mallikarjun of the Center for Classical Language. Hence, the
numbers fluctuate in each Census.
Sanskrit has influence without presence, says Devy. We all feel in some corner of the country, Sanskrit is spoken. But even in Karnatakas Mattur, which is
often referred to as Indias Sanskrit village, hardly a handful indicated Sanskrit as their mother tongue.
Ultimately, Sanskrit may be nowhere and everywhere, say Devy. It has been with us as an idea. There is an emotional link with the language. Another
language can replace it only if our myths and rituals move out of Sanskrit.

Keywords: Sanskrit lan

Where are the Sanskrit speakers?

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A scholarly discussion on the Vedas, on the banks of the Tunga in Mattur, Karnataka. Photo: Special Arrangement

INFOGRAPHIC
No. of Sanskrit speakers
TOPICS
arts, culture and entertainment
culture (general)

language
Sanskrit

In a country of over a billion people, there are about 14,000 people who claim Sanskrit is their mother tongue, an analysis of Census
numbers reveals.
In a country of over a billion people, there are about 14,000 people who claim Sanskrit is their mother tongue, an analysis of Census numbers reveals.

With the Union government gearing up to celebrate Sanskrit Week, a district-wise profile of the Dev Basha based on Census 2001 numbers (Census 2011
language figures are yet be released) reveal pockets in the heart of Uttar Pradesh, northern Telangana, southern Rajasthan, Nagpur and Haridwar where a
sizeable number of respondents claimed Sanskrit to be their mother tongue.
Sitapur district in Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of speakers, with over 550 people.
Sanskrit has influence without presence
There are almost no Sanskrit speakers in the countrys north-east, the eastern States beyond Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and
Gujarat, according to the Census 2001.
Tamil Nadu is unique because according to the 1921 Census, the Madras province had the highest number of Sanskrit speakers in the country 315 of a total
of 356.
Sanskrit is also the only scheduled language that shows wide fluctuations rising from 6,106 speakers in 1981 to 49,736 in 1991 and then falling dramatically
to 14,135 speakers in 2001.
This fluctuation is not necessarily an error of the Census method. People often switch language loyalties depending on the immediate political climate, says
Prof. Ganesh Devy of the Peoples Linguistic Survey of India.
Census figures reflect the political aspirations or the atmosphere in the country at a given time, he says, highlighting the case of Bhil, a language spoken by
several tribal groups in western India. Between 1991 and 2001, the number of speakers nearly doubled an expression of the aspiration of these people to
carve out a new State for them similar to the creation of Jharkhand in the late 1990s, Devy says.
The number of Bengali speakers, the second highest spoken language after Hindi, is also much higher than the entire population of West Bengal in nearly
every Census over the last 30 years, he says. At least some of this is due to the migratory population from Bangladesh whose original mother tongue is Urdu,
but they claim it is Bengali to enhance their chances of citizenship, he adds.
The Census is thus rather subjective, but it is a very good tool for measuring the political mood of the language communities.
Because some people fictitiously indicate Sanskrit as their mother tongue owing to its high prestige and Constitutional mandate, the Census captures the
persisting memory of an ancient language that is no longer anyones real mother tongue, says B. Mallikarjun of the Center for Classical Language. Hence, the
numbers fluctuate in each Census.
Sanskrit has influence without presence, says Devy. We all feel in some corner of the country, Sanskrit is spoken. But even in Karnatakas Mattur, which is
often referred to as Indias Sanskrit village, hardly a handful indicated Sanskrit as their mother tongue.
Ultimately, Sanskrit may be nowhere and everywhere, say Devy. It has been with us as an idea. There is an emotional link with the language. Another
language can replace it only if our myths and rituals move out of Sanskrit.
Keywords: Sanskrit lan

Where are the Sanskrit speakers?

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A scholarly discussion on the Vedas, on the banks of the Tunga in Mattur, Karnataka. Photo: Special Arrangement

INFOGRAPHIC
No. of Sanskrit speakers
TOPICS
arts, culture and entertainment
culture (general)

language
Sanskrit

In a country of over a billion people, there are about 14,000 people who claim Sanskrit is their mother tongue, an analysis of Census
numbers reveals.
In a country of over a billion people, there are about 14,000 people who claim Sanskrit is their mother tongue, an analysis of Census numbers reveals.

With the Union government gearing up to celebrate Sanskrit Week, a district-wise profile of the Dev Basha based on Census 2001 numbers (Census 2011
language figures are yet be released) reveal pockets in the heart of Uttar Pradesh, northern Telangana, southern Rajasthan, Nagpur and Haridwar where a
sizeable number of respondents claimed Sanskrit to be their mother tongue.
Sitapur district in Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of speakers, with over 550 people.
Sanskrit has influence without presence
There are almost no Sanskrit speakers in the countrys north-east, the eastern States beyond Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and
Gujarat, according to the Census 2001.
Tamil Nadu is unique because according to the 1921 Census, the Madras province had the highest number of Sanskrit speakers in the country 315 of a total
of 356.
Sanskrit is also the only scheduled language that shows wide fluctuations rising from 6,106 speakers in 1981 to 49,736 in 1991 and then falling dramatically
to 14,135 speakers in 2001.
This fluctuation is not necessarily an error of the Census method. People often switch language loyalties depending on the immediate political climate, says
Prof. Ganesh Devy of the Peoples Linguistic Survey of India.
Census figures reflect the political aspirations or the atmosphere in the country at a given time, he says, highlighting the case of Bhil, a language spoken by
several tribal groups in western India. Between 1991 and 2001, the number of speakers nearly doubled an expression of the aspiration of these people to
carve out a new State for them similar to the creation of Jharkhand in the late 1990s, Devy says.
The number of Bengali speakers, the second highest spoken language after Hindi, is also much higher than the entire population of West Bengal in nearly
every Census over the last 30 years, he says. At least some of this is due to the migratory population from Bangladesh whose original mother tongue is Urdu,
but they claim it is Bengali to enhance their chances of citizenship, he adds.
The Census is thus rather subjective, but it is a very good tool for measuring the political mood of the language communities.
Because some people fictitiously indicate Sanskrit as their mother tongue owing to its high prestige and Constitutional mandate, the Census captures the
persisting memory of an ancient language that is no longer anyones real mother tongue, says B. Mallikarjun of the Center for Classical Language. Hence, the
numbers fluctuate in each Census.
Sanskrit has influence without presence, says Devy. We all feel in some corner of the country, Sanskrit is spoken. But even in Karnatakas Mattur, which is
often referred to as Indias Sanskrit village, hardly a handful indicated Sanskrit as their mother tongue.
Ultimately, Sanskrit may be nowhere and everywhere, say Devy. It has been with us as an idea. There is an emotional link with the language. Another
language can replace it only if our myths and rituals move out of Sanskrit.
Keywords: Sanskrit lan

On the Importance of Sanskrit

or thousands of years, ancient traditions and knowledge were passed on from generation to generation through

only one language Sanskrit. Sanskrit thereof contained in itself the very essence of Indian culture. This was
recognized by Macaulay, known as the father of the Modern Indian Education System. In his infamous Minutes of
1835, he made a historical speech in the British Parliament which struck a blow at the centuries old system of Indian
Education. He said:
I have traveled the length and breadth of India and have not seen one person who is a beggar, who is a thief. Such
wealth I have seen in this country, such high moral values, people of such caliber, that I do not think we would ever
conquer this country, unless we break the very backbone of this nation, which is her spiritual and cultural heritage, and,
therefore, I propose that we replace her old and ancient education system, her culture, for if the Indians think that all
that is foreign and English is good and greater than their own, they will become what we want them, a truly dominated
nation.
Macaulay realized that he could achieve his goal by eliminating Sanskrit from being an essential part of the Indian
Education System. The most important step that he adopted was to shut down several Sanskrit schools and to
introduce English as a modern and civilized language. Sadly enough, even today, Indians take pride in speaking English
while neglecting their own rich and invaluable language Sanskrit.
Listed below are a few quotes on Sanskrit highlighting its different aspects
Sanskrit is the greatest language in the world.
Max Muller

Sanskrit language, has been universally recognized by those competent to form a judgement, as the most perfect, the
most prominent and wonderfully sufficient literary instruments developed by the human mind.
Sri Aurobindo

Sanskrit was at one time the only language of the world. It is more perfect and copious than Greek and Latin.
Prof. Bopp

The Sanskrit language is the Devabhasha.It is the language of the Satya Yuga based on the true and perfect
relation of vak andartha. Everyone of its vowels and consonants has a peculiar and inalienable force which exists by the
nature of things and not by development or human choice.
Sri Aurobindo Hymns to the Mystic Fire

Sanskrit has moulded the minds of our people to extent to which they themselves are not conscious. Sanskrit literature
is national in one sense, but its purpose has been universal. That is why it commanded the attention of people who
were not followers of a particular culture
Dr.Radhakrishnan

The intellectual debt of Europe on Sanskrit literature has been undeniably great. It may perhaps become greater still in
the years that are to come. We (Europeans) are still behind in making even our alphabet a perfect one.
Prof. Macdonell

Even Albert Einstein was well-versed in Sanskrit. One day he tried talking to an Indian Scientist Dr.B.N.Gupta in
Sanskrit. When Dr.Gupta confessed that he did not speak the language, Dr.Einstein was amazed at the poor response
of the young Indian Scientist and said, you hail from India which is the home of Hindu Philosophy, yet you have not
cared to learn that language. Come along and see my library which treasures classics from Sanskritam.
Quoted by Samskrita Bharati

Our whole culture, literature and life would remain incomplete so long as our scholars, our thinkers and our
educationists remain ignorant of Sanskrit.
Dr.Rajendra Prasad

If I was asked what is the greatest treasure which India possesses and what is her finest heritage, I would answer
unhesitatingly that it is the Sanskrit language and literature and all that it contains. This is the magnificent inheritance
and so long as this endures and influences the life of our people, so long will the basic genius of India continue. If our
race forgot the Buddha, the Upanishads and the great Epics (Ramayana and Mahabharata), India would cease to be
India.
Jawarharlal Nehru

There is no language in India, which can take the place of Sanskrit because no other language has the same intimate
contact with the inner spirit of our lives. We may carry the dead weight of English as long as we choose but it is not and
can never be an Indian language. It has no roots in our soil. Even Hindi, which is the language of a very large section of
the Indian population, is after all only a regional language, although the region which it covers is by far the largest.
Sanskrit and Sanskrit alone is associated with the life of the people over the whole country. It is heard in the family

circle, in the, market place and in the temple. Let us not play with this great heritage. It can never be replaced but once
we lose it, we shall cease to be Indians. Even our political independence will be of hardly much value either to ourselves
or to the world at large.
Sri Sampurnananda (Samskritavishvaparishat, Bangalore, May 1966, p.42)

Without the study of Sanskrit one cannot become a true Indian and a true learned man.
Mahatma Gandhi

Indeed the role of Sanskrit in modern India is very great. In the words of Max Muller, A people that can feel no pride in
the past, in its history and literature, loses the mainstay of its national character. When Germany was in the very depth
of its political degradation, it turned to its ancient literature and drew hope for the future from the study of the past.
Sri Satyaranjan Banerjee; The Vedanta Keshari, Sri Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore, Madras, May 1962, p.12

In case of an Indian youth, he virtually ceases to be an Indian if he does not have the atmosphere of Sanskrit in his
temperament, either directly or indirectlyit is exceedingly important, in order to preserve the sense of self-respect of
an Indian educated person, that he should have an acquaintance with Sanskrit and its literature. Young men and women
passing out of High Schools and the Universities without any knowledge of their national heritage as preserved in
Sanskrit lack the very essential means to approach the outside world confidently and with a sense of self-respect. The
main reason for this is that this Indian heritage has got the power to make those who possess it feel a spiritual and
intellectual assurance and self-confidence.
Report of the Sanskrit Commission, 1956-57, 1958, pp. 89-90

The reasons for studying Sanskrit today are the same as they were; that the vast array of Sanskrit texts preserves for
us a valuable part of the cultural heritage of mankind, including much beautiful literature and many interesting, even
fascinating ideas.
Prof. Richard Gombrich (Held the Bolden Chair at Oxford)

The only safety, I tell you men who belong to the lower castes, the only way to raise your condition is to study Sanskrit.
Why do you not become Sanskrit scholars? Why do you not spend millions to bring Sanskrit education to all castes of
India? That is the question. The moment you do these things, you are equal to the Brahmin.
The very sound of Sanskrit words gives a prestige and a power and a strength to the race. Sanskrit and prestige go
together in India. As soon as you have that, none dares say anything against you. That is the one secret; take that up.
Swami Vivekananda

When the great philologists and scholars of computational linguistics whole-heartedly accept Sanskrit as the best and
most scientific language of the world, on what basis can one say that Sanskrit is a dead language?Sanskrit being a

natural language, there is no question of its death. It is alive in the heart and mind of the people of India. As Professor
Sampurnananda has said, Sanskrit is not merely alive, it is also a medicine to make the dead alive.
Prof Lakshmikanta Maitra; Samsara, 2 Nov.1948

If you have to adopt a language, why should you not have the worlds greatest language?
Sri Najiruddin Ahmed (While discussing on the bill on the National Language of Bharat in the Constituent Assembly)

Sanskrit is the language of every man, to whatever race he may belong.

Dr. Shaidullah

Sanskrit is not the language of any particular sect or creed. It is the language of every Indian.
Fakruddin Ali Ahmed

When questioned as to why he was among those who sponsored Sanskrit as the official language of the Indian Union,
Dr.Ambedkar said: What is wrong with Sanskrit?
Dr.Ambedkar

Sanskrit is thus for India the symbol and substance of its national unity and as a connecting bond with Asia and the
worldto study Sanskrit and disseminate Sanskrit among the peoplewould not only be a tribute to Kalidasa but a way
of preparing ourselves for the future.
K.R.Narayanan

Sanskrit flows through our blood. It is only Sanskrit that can establish the unity of the country.
Dr.C.V.Raman; Nobel Laureate on the need for Sanskrit to be the national language

Sanskrit ought still to have a future as a language of the learned and it will not be a good day for India when the ancient
tongue ceases entirely to be written or spoken.
Sri Aurobindo
If Sanskrit would be divorced from the everyday life of the masses of this country, a light would be gone from the life of
the people and the distinctive features of the Hindu culture which have won for it an honoured place in world-thought
would soon be affected to the great disadvantage and loss both of India and of the world.
Sir Mirza Ismail

Not I, scholars say, even Western scholars opine that if Sanskrit is taught to our younger generation there will be a
gradual disappearance of violence and disturbance from the social and national life. It will make people disciplined. The
police budget of a State will get safely reduced by one-fourth of its annual provision, if emphasis is given on Sanskrit
teaching.
Sri Gopal Krishna Srichandan

The foundations of greater India were laid in Sanskrit. The role of Sanskrit through centuries has been to rejuvenate
with its infinite resources local languages and cultures, to absorb local excellences, and to evolve a constructive and
harmonious synthesis. And this role Sanskrit can still perform not only for all India but for the whole of South-East Asia.
Sri V. Raghavan
(The Mother gave a lot of importance to the use of simple Sanskrit. She believed that no one could claim to be a true
Indian if he/she did not have any knowledge of Sanskrit. She was emphatic on this point, )Every child born in India
should know it just as every child born in France has to know French.
The Mother; 11.11.1967
The ideal would be in a few years, to have a rejuvenated Sanskrit as the representative language of India, that is a
spoken Sanskrit. Sanskrit is behind all the languages of India and it should be that
The Mother; 11.11.1967

Summarizing it all, Shankar Dayal Sharma, the former president of Bharat said in Legacy of Sanskrit, The Indian
Nation, 11. Jan.1988:

On the practical plane one must acknowledge that in terms of its grammar, phonetics, vocabulary and the Devanagari
script, Sanskrit becomes a wonderfully efficient vehicle of communication. It is not surprising that recent empirical
studies about the relative suitability of different languages and scripts for use in Computer programming and operation
indicated that Sanskrit in devanagari script was not only the most suitable but also that it perfectly satisfied every
requirement as an optimal medium for use
The culture of Sanskrit and Sanskrit literature is actually the culture of synthesis and assimilation. The message of
Sanskrit literature is one of humanism of unity of mankind, of values, of peace and mutual understanding and of
harmonious development of the individual and the society. Acquaintance with such literature can only elevate and widen
ones outlook. Far from being obscurantist, the Sanskrit literature can be a positive force for progress and growth in the
right direction
It would help us to remain not too far behind those other countries that have surged far ahead of us in reaping the
benefits of study of Sanskrit and Sanskrit literature
It would help reviving the ethos of India because synthesis, harmony and reconciliation comprise the essence of the
culture of Sanskrit.
It would help us to unlock the treasure house of scientific insights and research results concerning positive sciences in
our ancient literature.

It would help us in using Sanskrit as a medium par excellence in Computer operations and as a language for the new
technology.
It would help us to invigorate various languages of India. As Gandhi-ji said, Sanskrit is like the river Ganga for all our
languages. I always feel that if it were to dry up, the regional languages also would lose their vitality and power. It seems
to me that an elementary knowledge of Sanskrit is essential.
It is not sentiment on my part that makes me say so but practical consideration of the utility to our country of this great
language and the vast knowledge held in it.
To quote Jawaharlal, The past is gone an the present is with us and we work for the future. But I have no doubt that
whatever shape that future may take, one of the biggest, the strongest and most powerful and most valued of our
legacies will be the Sanskrit language.

Mother language 'Sanskrit' needs urgent protection

Thursday, November 8, 2012
|

Education
|

By:
Hemant Goswami
If we want to preserve our heritage, the indifference towards Sanskrit has to stop

Sanskrit Panini

"SANSKRIT," THE mother of all Indo-Aryan languages, which has also helped in
development and enrichment of almost all languages across the globe is fighting a tough
battle in its own country of origin, India. The language, acknowledged and documented to be
the most structured and scientific language in the entire world, and which was the linguafranca. has now been reduced to a vanishing minority with just about 14,000 speakers left,
across a country of over one billion.
Why this plight of Sanskrit?
It took nearly 200 years of systematic attack on Sanskrit to reduce it to such a pitiable and
marginalised position. It all started with the advent of the Britishers in India and their desire
to control the entire country. The transgressors identified that India is so evenly structured
that it was almost impossible to enslave the country.

The British identified the social structure and the lingua-franca Sanskrit, which was also the language of scriptures, as an essential
founding block of this unity in all the diversity of India. A systematic and strategic propaganda about the social structure and class
division was started and an onslaught on Sanskrit was initiated.

With the entry of T. B. Macaulay, who was the 'Secretary to the Board of Control' and looking
into the affairs of India, things changed very fast. Macaulay advocated that for taking
complete control of the country teaching of Sanskrit has to be stopped and only English
should be promoted.
He argued that support for the publication of books in Sanskrit (and Arabic) should be
withdrawn, support for traditional education should be reduced to funding for (the Madrassa
at Delhi) and the Hindu College at Benares, but students should no longer be paid to study at
these establishments. The money released by these steps should instead go to fund education
in Western subjects, with English as the language of instruction. He said,
...that we ought to employ them in teaching what is best worth knowing; that English is better worth knowing than Sanskrit or Arabic;
that the natives are desirous to be taught English, and are not desirous to be taught Sanskrit or Arabic; that neither as the languages of
law, nor as the languages of religion, have the Sanskrit and Arabic any peculiar claim to our engagement; that it is possible to make
natives of this country thoroughly good English scholars, and that to this end our efforts ought to be directed.

This policy resulted in the Education Act of 1835. Thereafter, all Sanskrit schools and
institutions lost to the British policies and bureaucracy and Sanskrit suffered irreparable
damage.
Reinterpretation of Hindustan's scriptures and documents
A battery of British scholars started learning Sanskrit and based on whatever they could learn
of Sanskrit in a year or two, they started translating the ancient scriptures and documents in
English. While in India they started a propaganda claiming that Sanskrit was a dying
language; but ironically Sanskrit was being introduced in almost all universities in Europe.
The tardy and incorrect translations based on desultory learning of the British scholars
became an introduction of Hinduism and Sanskrit to the rest of the English-speaking world.
Selected works with twisted translations which presented Hinduism and India in bad light
were promoted with full vigour to highlight how bad the system of India was. The language
of instruction of Sanskrit for higher education in India was changed to English and almost all
top positions of Sanskrit professors were occupied by Europeans. The neo-scholars of
English language of Indian origin, who could not be educated in Sanskrit, also started relying
on the English translations by the European authors, which also got referred in all subsequent
works. Unfortunately, if one picks up any Indian textbook on History, the same propaganda
continues. Among the list of books referred to prepare any History textbooks; one can find
that 80 per cent of them are by foreign authors and rest are using their work as leading
references. Nearly 200 years of this kind of propaganda not only polluted our culture but also
almost destroyed the learning of Sanskrit.
Sanskrit Post-Independence
During the framing of India's Constitution, there were long debates on official language of
the Country and the role of Sanskrit. The 'Constituent Assembly' and the sub-committee
formed on 'Languages' highlighted the need to undo what the Britishers had done and
emphasised on the need to make Hindi as the language of the State so that the common man
can be empowered and made a part of the Government. Article 343 of the Constitution
specifically provided that English as a State language would be phased out in 15 years period
and Hindi would be the State language. Sanskrit was also considered to be made the official

language, but it was felt that the country should wait for some more time before initiating
such an effort. In the same spirit, Article 351 specifically mentioned that for enriching Hindi
language, Sanskrit would be used. The Constitution of India directs under Article 351 that
wherever necessary or desirable, for development of Hindi vocabulary, it shall be expanded
primarily based on Sanskrit and secondarily on other languages.
The then political leadership was fully aware about the importance of Sanskrit and a handful
of our leaders did highlight their concerns then and now. While underscoring the importance
of Sanskrit, first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru said;
If I was asked what is the greatest treasure which India possesses and what is her finest heritage, I would answer unhesitatingly - it is
the Sanskrit language and literature, and all that it contains. This is a magnificent inheritance, and so long as this endures and
influences the life of our people, so long the basic genius of India will continue.

However, the efforts and dreams of the Constitution framers could not be fully realised even
after over 60 years of Independence. The resistance did not come from the people but from
the English-speaking bureaucracy and the foreign-trained English speaking politicians of the
country, who continued to look down upon Hindi and Sanskrit as lesser languages, and as the
languages of uneducated people.
Present state of affairs
Various commissions and committees have highlighted the importance of Sanskrit and the
need to restore it to its old glory. All our texts, documents and scriptures are in Sanskrit;
losing the language would be losing our roots. Besides, Sanskrit is the most structured and
scientific language spoken anywhere in the world. In its syntax, grammar and structure, no
other language can match it. 'Sanskrit Commission' which was set up by the Government of
India, in its 1957 report specifically pointed out that Sanskrit is one of the greatest languages
of the world and it is the classical language par excellence not only of India but of a good part
of Asia as well. The report states the Indian people look upon Sanskrit as the binding force
for the different people of this great country and described this as the greatest discovery made
by the Commission as it travelled from Kerala to Kashmir and from Kamarupa to Saurastra.
The commission, while so travelling, found that though the people of this country differed in
a number of ways, they all were proud to regard themselves as participants in common
heritage and that heritage emphatically is the heritage of Sanskrit.
India's official education policy specifically mentions that facilities for the intensive study of
Sanskrit has to be encouraged. Still, the apathy, neglect and propaganda against Sanskrit has
been so much that the Supreme Court of India had to intervene in 1994 to declare that
Sanskrit has to be a part of education. However, the various States of India are still
disadvantaging, discouraging and discriminating education in Sanskrit at School, College and
University level. Sanskrit learning has been stopped in many schools in want of teachers and
funds. In Colleges and Universities, courses are being closed down and students are being
discouraged; indirect discouragement and strategic discouragement is caused by limiting
financial resources. Though Sanskrit is a subject for appearing in Civil Services, the State and
Universities are providing no facilities to students for preparing for civil services in Sanskrit,
whereas other subjects are being patronised.
As a result of this systematic propaganda against this great heritage, offensives of the British
rulers, and poor support for Sanskrit post-independence, the language has now been reduced
to a poor minority. According to the 2001 census of India, there remain only 14,135 speakers

of Sanskrit in Hindustan. According to the Indian Census policy, if the total number of
speakers of any language is reduced to less than 10,000, it wouldn't even be reported as a
separate language.
What needs to be done
The situation is emergent and Sanskrit now urgently needs special protection. The
Constitution of India provides for special protection to minorities based on distinct language,
script or culture as per the provisions related to minorities contained in Article 29 and 30.
Through a gazette notification issued in 1993, the Union Ministry of Welfare notified only
five religious communities viz; the Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Zoroastrians
(Parsis) as minority communities. Linguistic minorities have not been considered for the
purpose of awarding protection and the consequential Minority status either by the Union
of India or the States. This needs to change. Despite being a language of the masses once
upon a time; Sanskrit now needs this necessary protection, as available to minorities.
If Sanskrit is accorded Minority status, it will ensure a right to all Sanskrit-speaking
communities and students to ensure learning in Sanskrit from primary level itself (Article
350A). Minority status also ensures the right to conserve the language, independence in
structuring and managing institutions of Sanskrit learning, right to establish and administer
educational institutions of their choice, protection from arbitrary acquisition, additional funds
for running institutions and printing/ publishing of books in Sanskrit; and scholarships and
other funding for students learning Sanskrit; etc. Besides according Minority status to
Sanskrit, every State must also follow directions contained in Article 351 of the Constitution
and declare it as the second/ third language of the State.
It is absolutely essential that Sanskrit be taught as language in all schools and institutions of
higher learning. State must ensure that institutions of higher learning produce good Sanskrit
teachers and also ensure that all vacancies of Sanskrit teachers in schools are filled-up
immediately. At individual level, all parents should also ensure that their children learn
Sanskrit, so that they can taste and appreciate the genius and depth of India directly in their
basic mother tongue, without relying on corrupted interpretation of their own texts by a third
person.
Hemant Goswami is a social activist who recently moved the Punjab and Haryana High
Court, praying for directing the Government to accord protection of Minority to Sanskrit
language. The High Court has directed the Government to take a decision within two months
for according Sanskrit the protection as available to Minorities. Hemant can be reached at