Smriti Irani’s proposal that Sanskrit be taught in IITs is laudable and has rekindled interest in this language. Students are unaware of our rich language heritage and the vast reserve of knowledge hidden therein, involving many disciplines of study, writes RAMAKANT TIWARI
Union Minister for Human Resource Development Smriti Irani recently proposed that Sanskrit be taught in Indian Institutes of Technology and that it should be an integral part of IIT curriculum. Irani’s decision is laudable as it fills a vacuum. Students are almost completely unaware of our rich Sanskrit heritage and the vast reserve of knowledge hidden therein, involving so many disciplines of study.
Nobel laureate CV Raman had said, “Sanskrit flows through our blood. It is only Sanskrit that can establish unity of the country.” Raman’s quote is deliberately selected and highlighted lest we are accused of ‘saffron bias’ by the army of skeptics that the Macaulay's secular school teaching has raised during six decades of political freedom.
However, some people have already succeeded in raising the walls of unfounded myths and encircling the great ancient language. Therefore, it is essential to demolish the myth.
Very difficult to learn: The truth is diametrically opposite. Sanskrit grammar is so accurate and precise that it does not leave even an iota of ambiguity, be it in pronunciation or construction of words and sentences. Together with the highest degree of precision, Sanskrit allows the erudite one to create newer words.
Indeed, Sanskrit is easiest to learn if compared with French, English, German, Chinese or Japanese languages. Sanskrit may be difficult to learn for those who are either not determined to learn or are biased against it, caused by its glory and depth of divine wisdom that it offers. The language answers every call of rationality and logic, which no other language in the world is capable of.
Sanskrit’s teachings religious: Almost 95 per cent of Sanskrit literature has absolutely nothing to do with religious rituals. It is an outright canard, propagated by vested interests, that Sanskrit is all about rituals and worship.
As per Resolution No F34-1/56-A-1 dated October 1, 1956, of the Sanskrit Commission, appointed by the Government of India, Sanskrit has never been a religious language at all.
It must be pointed out that a large mass of literature in Sanskrit was not produced by any particular community. Several instances can be quoted of non-Brahmin and non-Hindu authors who have made significant contributions to Sanskrit literature. It is definitely wrong to assume that Sanskrit represents only the religious literature of Hindus.
In a landmark case of Santosh Kumar and others vs Secretary, Ministry of Human Resource Development on October 4, 1994, the Supreme Court held that a “secular state is not hostile to religion, but holds itself neutral in matters of religion”.
Paragraphs 19 and 20 are highly illustrative in this regard. Para 19: “From what has been stated above, we entertain no doubt in our mind that teaching Sanskrit alone as an elective subject can in no way be regarded as against secularism. Indeed, our Constitution requires giving a fillip to Sanskrit because of what has been stated in Article 351, in which while dealing with the duty of the Union, to promote the spread of Hindi, it has been provided that it would draw, whenever necessary or desirable, for it’s vocabulary, primarily on Sanskrit. Encouragement to Sanskrit is also necessary because of it being one of the languages included in the VIII Schedule.”
Para 20: “We, therefore, conclude by saying that in view of importance of Sanskrit for nurturing our cultural heritage, because of which even the official education policy has highlighted the need of study of Sanskrit, making of Sanskrit alone as an elective subject, while not conceding this status to Arabic and/or Persian, would not in any way militate against the basic tenet of secularism. There is thus no merit in the first objection raised by the Board.”
Sanskrit shall disrupt the secular fabric of our country: On September 12, 1949, the Constituent Assembly witnessed a historic spectacle of a Muslim league member Naziruddin Ahmed, demanding Sanskrit be declared as a national language, “I offer you a language which is the grandest and the greatest, and it is impartially difficult, equally difficult for all to learn.”
He was vociferously supported by BR Ambedkar and resisted by Jawaharlal Nehru. Sayeed Muzammiluddin, an experienced Wikipedian, has been struggling to develop a domain dedicated to Sanskrit knowledge. Had there been even an iota of truth in the bagatelle of disruption, these people would not have taken up the venture.
Former President APJ Abdul Kalam averred to the students of Guru Sarvabhouma Samskrita Vidyapitham on February 1, 2007, “I understand that there is a wealth of knowledge available in Sanskrit which the scientists and technologists are finding today. There is a need to carry out research on our Vedas, particularly the Atharva Veda, or eliciting many valuable information in science and technology relating to medicine, flight sciences, material sciences and many other related fields. Cryptology is another area where Sanskrit language is liberally used.”