Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a favorable atmosphere has emerged across the country for the resurgence of Sanskrit, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday.
Terming Sanskrit as the mother of almost all Indian languages, Shahs said the government, the public, and the collective mindset are all firmly dedicated and committed to the revival and promotion of this language.
He was addressing a gathering at the closing ceremony of 1008 Sanskrit Sambhashan Shivirs in New Delhi.
Shah claimed that many renowned global scholars have acknowledged Sanskrit as the most scientific language. “Rather than dwelling on the history of Sanskrit's decline, efforts should now focus on its resurgence,” he said.
Highlighting various initiatives launched by the Modi government to promote Sanskrit, Shah said around 18 projects have been implemented under the Ashtadashi scheme. The Government of India provides financial support for the publication, bulk purchase, and reprinting of rare Sanskrit texts, he added.
Noting that the Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan has been elevated to the status of a Central Sanskrit University, the home minister mentioned that under the Sahasra Chudamani Yojana, the government has facilitated the appointment of retired eminent Sanskrit scholars as educators.
One of the most significant initiatives of the Modi government is a nationwide campaign with a budget of approximately Rs 500 crore aimed at collecting scattered manuscripts in Sanskrit and Prakrit, he said. Also, the government has launched the Gyan Bharatam Mission with a foundational corpus of Rs 500 crore dedicated to manuscript preservation, with allocations planned in every budget going forward.
“There is no opposition to any language, but no one can be distanced from their mother tongue — and Sanskrit is the mother of nearly all Indian languages,” said Shah.
