KALABURAGI: Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, Vice-Chancellor Prof Santishree Pandit on Thursday advocated the need for declaring Sanskrit as the national language of India. Delivering the keynote address during the inaugural of the 19th State Level Political Science Teachers Conference on the theme ‘Nationalism and National Integration of India: Issues and Challenges’ at Gulbarga University, Prof Santishree said making Sanskrit the national language will be beneficial as it is the “fountain of knowledge”.
Paying tribute to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, she said he advocated for the welfare of all castes and communities and because of the constitution, written by Dr Ambedkar, the country has developed to this extent and is in competition with developed countries in many aspects.
She regretted the gender discrimination that is still prevalent. “Our country is 143rd out of 146 countries in providing facilities to women. Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only other countries that are below India in this aspect,” she rued. “We address Lord Sri Ram as Seetapati and Lord Vishnu as Lakshmipati, which shows we have a feminist civilization,” she said.