Sanskrit.

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March 24, 1999

 

                    [The Indian Express]

 

             C ultural salvation through Sanskrit

 

            &n bsp;      K. Madhavan Kutty

 

We made some crucial mistakes in our judgment when we won independence mor e

than fifty years ago. One of them was the acceptance of Hindi as our

national language. At that time there were two options before the framers

of our Constitution: Sanskrit and Hindi. A large number of members of

the Constituent Assembly argued vehemently for Sanskrit, which is the

mother of most of the Indian languages. Naziruddin Ahmed of West Bengal

was one of the staunchest supporters of Sanskrit and his arguments are as

relevant today as it was then.

 

His main arguments were:

 

1. It is the finest language in the world with the most versatile

  literature and magnificent classics.

 

2. It is the mother of almost all Indian languages and would

  stimulate the pride of the whole country, which Hindi cannot. The s outh

  Indians, including Maharash-trians, the people of the east, would

  welcome Sanskrit more than Hindi.

 

3. Even if it is conceded that Sanskrit is a little more difficult to

  study, it will be ``equally impartial to all''.This means that it w ill

  not confer any specific advantage for one section of the country ov er

  the rest as would happen in the case of any other language.

 

To this set of arguments, today it can also be added that Sanskrit is an

extremely scientific language and is the language ideally suited for

computerisation. It is precise and unambiguous and is accepted the world

over as an ideal language for modern information technology. India is

already considered as the country which produces the largest number of

experts in the field of computer software. If we could reinforce it with

a Sanskritic base, we can certainly become the leaders in the next millenn

ium.

 

The mention of the word millennium immediately reminds us that we are stil l

having our calendars based on the Christian era. This condenses our sense of

history and we are being unnecessarily anchored to a historical accident,

which once made Britannia rule the waves. It was thought that the sun woul d

never set over the ``British empire''. But today itnever rises over Englan d

and even Ireland does not accept England's greatness. If we had adopted th e

Bharathiya calendar based on Lord Krishna and Bhagwad Gita, we would be

stepping into the Yugabdam 5101 and not to AD 2000. This will enhance our

national pride and enable our citizens to come out of the small

controversies about caste, community and religion and have a historic

concept of our hoary tradition. It is with this intention that the

government has declared ``the Yugobda year 5101 (AD 1999) as the `Year of

Sanskrit', and it is hoped that this will set in motion a series of

activities which will enable the youth of our country to have a working

knowledge of Sanskrit.

 

The Sanskrithi, or culture of our country, is based on Sanskrit and withou t

some knowledge of this amritavani, it will be difficult to understand and

assimilate true Bharathiya culture. A wrong impression has been given that

it is extremely difficult to study Sanskrit. This is not true at all.

Without going into the grammatical nuances, and pedagogic peculiarities, i t

is possible to have a working knowledge of the language in a matter of a f

ew

months. In fact we can have the four courses of Praveshaha, Parichayaha,

Sikshsa, and Kovidaha, each of six months duration, through postal tuition ,

from the centres of Sanskrita Bharathi at New Delhi, Bangalore or Trichur

and

the medium of instruction can be the language of our choice. You can also

get

simple books in Sanskrit, or cassettes (songs, talks, programmes etc) or

magazines for your study. In other words, one has only to make up one's mi

nd

and if one chooses to learn Sanskrit, a new world of charm, knowledge and

culture in the best Bharathiya tradition is within our reach.

 

Thoreau has said that ``more powerful than a thousand arms is an idea whic h

has reached its time.'' For an evanescent India, the year of Sanskrit shou

ld

usher an era of explosive expansion in knowledge and deep understanding of

the fountains of our culture.

 

 

(The writer is a retired Principal of Calicut Medical College)

 

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

At 14:53 19/08/99 +0630, you wrote:

>[Text 2566647 from COM]

>

>March 24, 1999

>

>                    [The Indian Express]

>

>             C ultural salvation through Sanskrit

>

>            &n bsp;      K. Madhavan Kutty

>

 

Dear Manoram,

 

You may remember me from Mayapur Gukrukula, 1991-2.

 

I'm studying Anthropology & Asian Studies at university and have gotten some

academic perspective on the event of Indian independence. I wholeheartedly

agree with messages implying a stronger, more Vedic India.

 

**I feel that Krsna consciousness/Srila Prabhupada's books give invaluable

insight into 'India'.**

 

One point worth considering is that British influence facilitated the

unification of India, but, like the rail system and the very air itself,

national unification seems to be cracking under the strain of 'progress'.

How can national unity been seen in a context separate from it's British

colonial inception?

 

Sanskrit is a unifying factor but only for the educated. The 'lower castes'

may take offense at the indirect 'reintroduction of an oppressive

heirarchical social system'. Foriegn corporate interests will not take

kindly to any attempt, even oblique, at moving away from consumerism. You

would need heavy-duty local support on every level and be prepared for all

kinds of serious interference from those who would stand to lose from a

shift towards sanity in India. Undoing what the British did would not be

enough in my little opinion. A positive alternative would be necessary. Hare

Krishna!

 

yfs,

'Bh.' Scott