Firstly I have to admit, I had to learn Sanskrit for one year in school and I did not like it. I found no particular use for it other than that it taught me how to call naughty boys by animal names in a more sophisticated manner. I am a strong opponent of any non-native language being taught compulsorily to school kids; particularly so if it is a classical language such as Sanskrit. So I wondered what this trending Twitter hashtag - #NoToSanskrit – was all about.
The government of Karnataka has proposed the setting up of a Sanskrit university in Magadi in the Ramanagara district of the state. Rs 359 crore are allocated for the project which Kannada activists are strongly against and were trending #SayNoToSanskrit
Many Tamilians, who have often revolted against the imposition of Hindi were seen supporting the trend.
There are many who love Sanskrit, see it as a part of the country’s culture and would like to see it promoted.
WhatsApp University’s fave forwards – the usual misinformation were also circulated to counter the trend.
Many shared this misinformation as well. While Sanskrit is one of the oldest languages in the world, there are other languages that are older. Misinformation about Sanskrit being suitable for AI and computers, about being declared ‘best language for computer’ by NASA were also posted.
Scholars believe that the Dravidian languages developed independently of the Indo-Aryan languages and any overlap is mutual; with both sides borrowing from each other.
Sanskrit is a classical language and not a language of common use, pointed out a lot of people.
There are those who claim that Hindi is the national language – as this tweet points out, this is also incorrect.
There are already many Sanskrit Universities in the country, pointed out the tweeple. We don’t need another. Rather we need to promote other languages that are still widely spoken by the common people.
Tulu and Kodava are widely spoken languages in the region. Some believe that promoting such languages with lakhs of native speakers should be prioritised above the interests of some thousands of Indians who claim Sanskrit as their mother tongue.
It is well known that Sanskrit was a language used exclusively by some upper castes and often used as a tool of oppression and exclusion against the lower strata of society. As such, many now see the language as an unwelcome imposition; the pushback being especially sharp from oppressed communities.
While there is a lot of misinformation circulating about Sanskrit, it is still a classical language that has a large and valuable body of literature. People should be able to study Sanskrit if they choose to and several universities already exist for those that do. However, if people feel that Sanskrit is being prioritised at the cost of other widely-spoken native languages, then their views must also be respected. Also, those who want to promote Sanskrit should be free to do that – as long as they don’t make it compulsory for hapless school kids, that is.
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