Resurgence of Sanskrit in Modern India
Indian president Modi and other Indian politicians have pushed for a resurgence in Sanskrit learning in modern India. The new government mandates the study of Sanskrit in many of India’s schools. Many hail this as a way to preserve tradition and keep Indian and Hindu culture alive. Sanskrit is also useful as a building block to learning other Indian languages from which it was derived, such as Hindi, Bengali, or Marathi. Sanskrit is not widely spoken, but over 10,000 Indians claimed to fluently speak Sanskrit as a main language on India’s last census. The language is also kept alive by religious ceremony and Hindu priests who must memorize the language or at least parts of it. Some Indians think this is a great move that will promote nationalism, unity, and a passion for tradition. Others claim that a focus on teaching the language in schools takes away from students who could be learning more practical foreign languages such as French or Spanish.
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