De-saffronise Sanskrit before pitching it to world: Panel

To take Sanskrit to the world and make it a popular academic paper, Second Sanskrit Commission in its report has recommended, that the language should shed its communal and religious colour. The report goes on to say that Sanskrit needs to be read as a language with academic interest and should castaway the 'ism' factor attached to it. The commission has submitted its report to the Human Resource Development Ministry about ten days ago.

The commission was set up in 2013 under the UPA 2 regime by the then HRD Minister Pallam Raju. It is headed by Professor Satya Vrat Shastri whose link with the Congress party dates back to the Indian Emergency Era. The commission that got on to business only last year had sought for one year extension from the current government. The request was turned down by the ministry.

"The BJP would have wanted its own person to chair the commission. But replacing the chairman would have caused embarrassment to the government. The government wanted Shastri to finish his task at the earliest. The report is now with the ministry and the government is in a better position to draw its own plan," explained a senior professor.

The report emphasizes on a makeover of the language by bringing Sanskrit at par with other mainstream courses. The committee recommends that Sanskrit should not be taught in isolation. "Sanskrit does not promote obscurantism and is not devoid of scientific temper. The language is deeply connected with other disciplines and should be studied in totality," said a member of the committee.

The committee is of the view to apply Jawaharlal Nehru University's model of weaving Sanskrit with other disciplines. "Substantial portions of the ancient Indian History cannot be read without reading Sanskrit texts. At JNU a Sanskrit faculty member with History background teaches with History department. Relevant portions from Sanskrit should be taught in mathematics, political science, law, music and sociology," added a member.

The approach they say will not only help students of other discipline develop interest and understanding of Sanskrit, but will also help in creating more research base and job opportunities.

Currently with no lucrative career options available for a student of Sanskrit, at college and university level, it is being read only by students who fail to get admission in other disciplines. "A student of Sanskrit ends up becoming a teacher of Sanskrit. Currently the discipline has nothing more to offer to the new generation. We have recommended the need to have job oriented courses for Sanskrit students," added the member. The commission has also proposed that the students and scholars should possess a working knowledge of English.

The commission in its report has recommended framing inter disciplinary post graduate diploma course like Indian Theatre, Yoga and Meditation, Vedic Mathematics, Temple Management, Public Policy and Administration, Astrology and Vastu Vigyan. The commission is of the view that identifying the relevance and importance of Sanskrit in these courses will open new job avenues for Sanskrit students.

Creating infrastructure for research projects, convergence of Shastric and modern Sanskrit, revival of the gurukuls and other traditional learning centers which currently lack the basic infrastructure and forming an expert committee of scholars to work on academic programs have also been recommended by the committee.

Picking up strings from the first Sanskrit Commission report of 1956-57 that insisted on setting up one Sanskrit university in each state, the second commission highlights the need for developing a Sanskrit Studies Department in each university and Advanced Centres of Sanskrit Studies. The report also discusses the need to have better interaction of Sanskrit with academic world.

The report has been prepared after several rounds of consultations with stake holders. "We had sent a questionnaire to about 2500 individuals and academic institutions. The report has been prepared basis the feedback received. We have made our submission to the ministry," said Professor Shastri.