Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said that the government will strengthen efforts for promotion, development and enrichment of Sanskrit. Describing the language as the “spirit of India”, the Prime Minister said that the spirit of liberalism and tolerance embedded in it must be inculcated in our present day life.
“Like the civilisation of India, Sanskrit does not belong to any particular race, sect or religion. It represents a culture that is not narrow and sectarian but open tolerant and all-embracing. It is this spirit of liberalism and tolerance embedded in Sanskrit that we must inculcate in our present day life,” the PM said at the 15th World Sanskrit Conference held in New Delhi.
Dr Singh said that Sanskrit was often misunderstood as only a language of religious hymns and rituals. “It does great injustice to the great genius of the language and betrays ignorance of the work of great writers, thinkers, sages and scientists like Kautilya, Charaka, Sushruta, Aryabhata, Varahmi-hira, Brahmagupta, Bhaskaracharya an others,” he said. He said that the wisdom of Sanskrit has the potential of enriching the present days knowledge systems.