Sanskrit is not a Brahminical language - this is one of the messages that will be disseminated at the National Convention of Samskrita Bharati to be held from October 18 to 20 at the Art of Living (AoL) campus.
Addressing a press conference, Samskrita Bharati’s All-India Organising Secretary Dinesh Kamat said the ‘Brahminical’ tag for Sanskrit was the doing of the British. “It was they who painted Sanskrit as Brahminical, which in reality is not true. Was Valmiki a Brahmin? What about Kalidas? In fact, even B R Ambedkar suggested making Sanskrit the national language. Sanskrit has no religious or caste affiliation,” Kamat said.
The convention will be inaugurated by Vishweshwa Thirtha Swami of the Pejawar Mutt, Infosys Foundation Chairperson Sudha Murthy and Art of Living founder Ravi Shankar.
“Most of the delegates will be teachers, who will discuss modern methodologies to impart Sanskrit and plan the growth of the language,” Kamat said.
The convention was initially slated to be held in Tirupati, but the venue was changed following the Seemandhra stir.
‘Science in Sanskrit’ will be one of the attractions at the convention along with seminars. Day two of the convention will have a discussion on ‘Modern Problems and Ancient Solutions’ that will feature economist Subramanian Swamy, scholar Chi Mu Krishna Sastry and Kannada writer S L Bhyrappa.