After opposing the caste based census, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) now wants citizens to voluntarily register Sanskrit as their second language in the census.
The RSS feels that if people register the language, the final census data would reflect higher literacy of Sanskrit, which will force the government to take measures to preserve the language.
“According to the last census, only 14,135 people knew Sanskrit and the language ranked 118 among all Indian languages. The result was that the government listed Sanskrit as an in-danger language like Arabi and Pharsi,” said Shirish Deopujari, an official of Sanskrit Bharati, a wing of the RSS.
Deopujari added that knowing Sanskrit would help people understand the scientific and economic theories written in Sanskrit during ancient times.
“Today, all the science we learn is developed by the western countries. India has its own scientific and economic theories written in Sanskrit. We are not aware of the rich knowledge we possess. If we want to be a developed nation, we should follow our own model and for that, the knowledge of Sanskrit is essential,” he said.
Emphasising the importance of the language, Deopujari said that whoever speaks an Indian language knows at least 50 per cent Sanskrit words as Sanskrit is the mother of most languages.
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