Rise of Sanskrit is intrinsically linked to rise of India: Amit Shah

United News of India

04-05-2025

New Delhi, May 4 (UNI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said that Sanskrit is the mother of most Indian languages, and therefore, the rise of Sanskrit is intrinsically linked to the rise of India.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of 1008 Sanskrit Sambhashan Shivirs here, Shah said that Sanskrit represents India's faith, tradition, truth, and timeless essence.
He emphasised that the light of knowledge and wisdom is deeply embedded in the Sanskrit language. As the mother of most Indian languages, Sanskrit's promotion is not just about its revival, but also about advancing the nation's overall progress.
He noted that for thousands of years, the churning of ideas across various disciplines has produced a wealth of knowledge preserved in Sanskrit. This vast treasure spans every field and should be made accessible to the entire world.
He stressed that the profound wisdom contained in the Vedas, Upanishads, and countless Sanskrit manuscripts must reach a global audience, and added that the ongoing efforts by Sanskrit Bharati are a significant first step towards achieving this goal.
"Sanskrit is not only the most scientific language in the world, but also possesses an unparalleled grammatical structure. Sanskrit was the first language to refine the use of meter and syllables, which has contributed to its continued vitality and relevance even today," he said.
Praising the Sanskrit Bharati for its remarkable and courageous initiative in organising 1008 Sanskrit Sambhashan Shivirs, Shah noted that the decline of Sanskrit began even before the era of colonial rule, and its revival will require time and sustained effort.
Shah said that since 1981, Sanskrit Bharati has been working to present the vast knowledge available in Sanskrit to the world and to train and enable millions of people to speak and learn Sanskrit. He highlighted that many renowned global scholars have acknowledged Sanskrit as the most scientific language.
Emphasising a forward-looking approach, the Home Minister said that rather than dwelling on the history of Sanskrit's decline, efforts should now focus on its resurgence.
He said that the government has launched various initiatives to promote Sanskrit. Around 18 projects have been implemented under the Ashtadashi scheme, and the Government of India provides financial support for the publication, bulk purchase, and reprinting of rare Sanskrit texts.
He highlighted that the new National Education Policy (NEP) places strong emphasis on the Indian Knowledge System, with Sanskrit as its core pillar. He noted that the Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan has been elevated to the status of a Central Sanskrit University.
He also mentioned that under the Sahasra Chudamani Yojana, the government has facilitated the appointment of retired eminent Sanskrit scholars as educators.
He emphasised that one of the most significant initiatives of the Modi government is a nationwide campaign with a budget of approximately Rs 500 crore aimed at collecting scattered manuscripts in Sanskrit and Prakrit. He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the Gyan Bharatam Mission with a foundational corpus of Rs 500 crore dedicated to manuscript preservation, with allocations planned in every budget going forward.
He further informed that over 52 lakh manuscripts have already been documented, around 3.5 lakh digitized, and 1,37,000 made available online at namami.gov.in. To support this massive effort, a team comprising scholars from various disciplines and languages has been constituted to translate and preserve these rare manuscripts.
Shah said that the work undertaken by Sanskrit Bharati since 1981 is truly unparalleled. He emphasized that the solutions to many of the world's challenges can be found through the revival, propagation, and simplification of the profound knowledge contained in Sanskrit. He highlighted that since its inception, Sanskrit Bharati has introduced over one crore people to spoken Sanskrit, trained more than one lakh Sanskrit teachers, and nurtured 6,000 families who converse exclusively in Sanskrit.
Moreover, there are now 4,000 villages in India where all communication is conducted entirely in Sanskrit. Shah noted that Sanskrit Bharati has established 4,500 centers across 26 countries and, in 2011, organised the world's first World Sanskrit Book Fair. It also hosted the Sahitya Utsav in Ujjain in 2013.
The Home Minister affirmed that while there is no opposition to any language, no one can be distanced from their mother tongue — and Sanskrit is the mother of nearly all Indian languages. Adding that as Sanskrit becomes richer and stronger, it will, in turn, empower every language and dialect across the country.
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