All the spoken languages originated from Sanskrit and we being Indians, were proud of the language as all the Granthas, Epics, Vedas and Puranas were written in Sanskrit said Chief Minister Shri Virbhadra Singh while presiding over the three day National Sanskrit Seminar on the subject ‘Role of Sanskrit in Development of Nation and Society’, in Government Sanskrit College, Solan, today.Considered as ‘Dev Vani’ or the language of Gods, Sanskrit enables us to understand the evolution of ancient Indian civilisation which has helped immensely in making India ‘Vishwa Guru’, he added. “Sanskriti (culture) and Sanskrit (language) are one and the same thing as I believe that it was important to preserve and promote it, as Sanskrit language was inseparable part of our day to day life”, he said. Most of the languages of various countries originate from Sanskrit, he said adding that Sanskrit literature shows a wide variety of forms and types and the need of the hour was to preserve the same along with our ancient old traditions and culture.
Even the foreigners, to understand the Sanskrit language and its history, evinced keen interest in the language and do research of the original Sanskrit texts as these contained some of the earliest thoughts and discoveries,” he added. Sanskrit, as of today was studied as Foreign Language even in western world, he said. Translations have been done on the great Indian epics and Mahakavyas in various languages but the importance of original texts have their own importance, he said.Every Indian should learn the basics of Sanskrit language, though he may not be a scholar in this but he should learn the language so as to speak and understand it, the Chief Minister said.Knowledge in Sanskrit will go a long way in finding solutions to the contemporary problems he said, adding a new direction and vision was needed in the field of research in Sanskrit to accomplish this task.Shri Virbhadra Singh also expressed concern over the declining interest of youth in the language and exhorted them to study and do more research in the Indian customary languages. Chief Minister said that all Sanskrit scholars should deliberate upon what is to be done for the development of the language. Teaching of Sanskrit should be attractive, its quality should improve, and research in Sanskrit should be more functional, he added.
The State Government was committed to give impetus to the Sanskrit language and has made it compulsory in schools from class sixth to eighth, he said. He said the State Government was committed to promote Sanskrit and lately Tungesh Sanskrit College was taken over by the State Government. “I strongly feel that there should be Sanskrit colleges or institutions in every district of the State”, he said. The Chief Minister said that the Government would provide financial assistance to anyone who want to pursue higher education in Sanskrit. He also lauded efforts of the scholars who have promoted the language in the State.The Chief Minister also honoured Padamshri Ramakant Shukl, Prof, Priyavrat Sharma, Prof Keshav Sharma and Prof Rehas Bihari Dwiwedi on the occasion. He also welcomed them to the State.
Social Justice and Empowerment Minister, Dr. (Col) Dhani Ram Shandil, while speaking on the occasion said that Sanskrit was the key language and there was a need to take it forward and promote it widely. He also urged for making Sanskrit compulsory till 10th class. We should promote the language to make it popular amongst the younger generation.Prof Ramesh Kumar Pandey, Vice-Chancellor, Shri Lal Bahadur Shashtri Sanskrit Vidyapeeth, New Delhi, Prof, Abhiraj Rajinder Mishr, Former Vice Chancellor, Sampoornanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi, Dr. Hari Chand Sharma, Vice Chancellor, Dr. Y.S. Parmar University of Forestry and Horticulture, also spoke on the occasion and expressed their views. Ex-MLA, Major Krishna Mohini, General Secretaries HPCC, Shri Sanjay Awasthi and Shri Vinod Sultanpuri, Chairman Khadi Board, Shri Ramesh Chauhan, Chairman, Jogindra Co-operative Bank, Shri Mohan Mehta, Chairman APMC, Shri Ramesh Thakur, Solan, Deputy Commissioner, Shri Rakesh Kanwar, were also present on the occasion amongst others.