Delhi's Health and Family Welfare Minister Professor Kiran Walia has called for a revival of the language of Sanskrit, saying that it needs to be made relevant to the youth of the country, while at the same time admitting that the language has lost its past glory.
Inaugurating the first of its kind three day All India Youth Sanskrit Conference here under the aegis of the Delhi Sanskrit Academy and Amity University, Dr. Walia said: "Most of the Indian schools promote rote learning of Sanskrit language as a result of which the interest to study Sanskrit for the sake of language itself is waning in students."
"More and more students are opting for Sanskrit for getting good scores. They don't realize the real purport of the language. They chant shlokas and hymns without realizing the meaning behind them. This trend has to be put to an end," she added.
Applauding the private patronization of the mission to revive Sanskrit by Amity University, the minister opined: "The Sanskrit language has to be made relevant to the youth of the country with genuine interest and beauty of Sanskrit language has to be nurtured in them. Sanskrit language has kept alive Indian culture."
She stated that the language's lost glory has to be restored and the interest for reading and writing Sanskrit language has to be re-kindled across the country.
Dr. Walia shared the idea of the Delhi Government opening a "Sanskrit Library" to promote Sanskrit learning in the country.
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She proposed a Delhi Government initiative to provide computers to the students studying in Gurukuls and Vishwavidhyalas in order to bring them at par with their counterparts in other educational institutions.
Over 237 female and 263 male Sanskrit scholars have registered for the conference who will present their research papers on "Vedic Literature", "Sanskrit Literature", "Jyotish Literature", "Sanskrit Grammar" and others.
Delivering the welcome address, Dr. Shashi Prabha, Vice President, Delhi Sanskrit Academy, revealed that over 500 Ph.D Sanskrit scholars from all over the country have registered for the conference, which shows that the revival of Sanskrit language has already started in the country and the future of Sanskrit language is bright.
Dr. Ashok K Chauhan, Founder President, Amity Group, opined that "Sanskrit language has shaped India's Sanskriti, which in turn, has nurtured Indian sanskaars and values.
He expressed with great conviction that in future, the change agents and leaders would be from Sanskrit Gurukuls and Vishvidhyalas.
Dr. Chauhan also announced plans to set up a Department of Sanskrit at Amity University and the launch of a website wherein the database of all the Sanskrit scholars attending the conference would be created.
This, he said, would act as a medium between the scholars and the educational institutions which require their assistance.
Swami Pranavanand, Principal, Gurukul Gautam Nagar (Delhi), called upon all Sanskrit scholars to cast aside their inhibitions and carry out research for the benefit of humanity. The end purpose of education should be the benefit of humanity, he added.
Dr. Amita Chauhan- Chairperson, Amity International Schools, Dr. Justice (Retired) Mukundakam Sharma, Chancellor of Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha, Radha Vallabh Tripathi, Vice Chancellor, Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthaan, Professor Uma Vaid, Vice Chancellor, Kavikulguru Kalidas Sanskrit University, Nagpur, Maharashtra, Dr. Dharmendra Kumar, Secretary, Delhi Sanskrit Academy, and other Sanskrit scholars and researchers were among the others present on the occasion.