Sanskrit sans German?

“Basic Sanskrit likely for VII KV students” – Goes the headlines of leading newspapers and television channels. While HRD minister’s diktat to government-run KendriyaVidyalaya schools to teach Sanskrit instead of German came up with acceptance and opposition by different people. Let’s see what could be the pros and cons of including Sanskrit as a compulsory subject in schools.

Pros:

Pertaining to the fact that our very own ancient language, Sanskrit is facing a great risk of extinction, this is a commendable move by the HRD minister.  Only if German was made optional with other languages like Chinese, French, Spanish or Portuguese, would make any relevance to the decision. Anchoring solely German is like as if Germany is standing on its gates with barring teeth to welcome Indians (for those who bet better job opportunities by studying German). So undoubtedly, better Sanskrit than German.

Sanskrit is increasingly thriving in other countries like U.K.  Various universities and schools are welcoming the language with a great deal of enthusiasm. St. James junior school in London is one of them where despite of being resource starved, Sanskrit is becoming popular and coveted among the students.

Teachers from these schools across say, Sanskrit gives excellent linguistic training to the students. Sanskrit scriptures are inspiring and full of philosophical concepts. It also helps in improving math and other subjects.

Furthermore, it helps improve diction and pronunciation. Also they  get to know what was happening in the world ages ago through Mahabharata and Ramayana( isn’t it a matter of proud for Indians? It sure is!) Through shloks of upnishad, spiritual benefits are other thumbs up to learning Sanskrit.

It would be ridiculously pathetic if west starts adopting Sanskrit and we people who live on the land where Sanskrit actually took birth overlooking the rejection of the language by our citizens. After all, India is a master when it comes to emulating the west and sacrificing its own originality!

Cons:

First off, even if Sanskrit was any good for school students, the decision to include it in the curriculum during the mid academic year shows complete lack of empathy on the part of Smriti. It is an abuse of power. Moreover, the move is rather political than academic.

Also, students of grade 6-8 are now required to throw out their German textbooks and start learning Sanskrit from scratch out of nowhere. I strongly believe the HRD minister could have waited for a new academic year to begin and launch her new proposal.

Next comes the relevance of studying Sanskrit over German by school students. Some people believe it of no practical relevance bringing in account the fact that it is a globalized economy and an additional language skill is quintessential to generate better employment opportunities.

From the students’ point of view, very few of them would like the decision as it will take them years back. They are already burdened with dozens of more subjects. The government that has been promising acchedin since a long while sees its HRD minister taking an anti move and brought bad days for the school students. It’s time for these little ones to go start hunting for a new coaching – exclusively for Sanskrit!

The decision also portrays a clever side of Smriti. She hit only on KendriyaVidyalaya and municipal schools. The corporatized schools are left behind because that’s where party’s donors and voter’s lie. Does this decision need any more comments?

Perorately, we come to the conclusion that Sanskrit might be an upliftment to the overall development of Indian culture and heritage but HRD minister’s move to suddenly drop it on students’ shoulders shows her callous side.