Though my admiration for both languages Sanskrit and English stand on an equal footing, yet I cannot understand the debate on which one is the better of the two. I am reminded of the famous lines treasured in Mr. H.M. Seervais book Partition of India: Legend and Reality which were taken from Lord Macaulays personal accounts and his historic speech at the House of Lords when he tabled most of the laws which continue to govern our country. The argument which he gave for inclusion of English in the curriculum of the indigenous population still holds true for Sanskrit: The first instance... Is the great revival of letters among Western Nations at the close of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th Century. At that time almost everything that was worth reading was contained in the writings of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Had our ancestors acted as the Committee of Public Instruction has hitherto acted; had they neglected the language of Cicero and Tacitus; had they confined their education to the old dialects of our own island; had they printed nothing and taught nothing at Universities but the chronicles of the Anglo Saxons and the romances in the Norman - French, would English have been what she is now? What Greek and Latin were to the contemporaries of More and Ascham, our tongue is to the people of India One can draw similar analogies with the readings of Sushruta, Charak, Chanakya, Kalidas, Varahmihira and say that Sanskrit too has its importance. It is now time to wait and watch for the Policy Decisions.
Posted on: Sun, 30 Nov 2014 12:30:54 +0000