With reference to the report, "Karunanidhi gives veiled threat to Centre on Sanskrit" (June 13), the Sanskrit versus non-Sanskrit debate is not new.
The Centre's inclination towards imposing this language on states certainly carries an element of coercion. But the outright opposition to Sanskrit by some political leaders in south India is also unwarranted. Article 51A of the Constitution makes it a fundamental duty of every citizen of India to preserve the rich heritage of our "composite culture". According to the constitutional expert late D D Basu, the foundation of this composite culture is Sanskrit language. This is attested by the Supreme Court ruling in the "Santosh Kumar and Others versus The Secretary, Ministry of Human Resource Development" (1994) case. In it the apex court observed that "though the people of this country differed in a number of ways, they all were proud to regard themselves as participants in a common heritage; and that heritage emphatically is the heritage of Sanskrit".
In the present situation, both the sides need to reconsider their respective stance so that the culture of a composite India can flourish.
Sachin V K Jadhav Washim
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