CHENNAI: Urging parents to allow their children to learn Sanskrit, Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan on Saturday said this was in tune with the tradition of Tamils being known for their quest for knowledge.
“I am paying the cost of participating in the anti-Hindi movement in the 1960s and not learning Hindi,” he said presiding over the 40th annual day celebration of Smt Kasturba Nimchand Shah P Muthyalu Chetty Vivekananda Vidyalaya Junior College here.
“Sanskrit is equally old and unique as Tamil and a language that can be learnt,” he maintained adding that knowledge of Sanskrit helped one to understand the scripture without the assistance of a third person. “There is nothing wrong in learning a language that too a language that connects people with God,” he said.
On the controversy surrounding the Sanskrit week celebration by CBSE schools, the BJP leader pointed out that it was purely a recommendation and not an order.
Stating that English is a language for survival, he said, “I am a person who strongly emphasises the use of one’s mother tongue in every possible way. But that does not mean that one should shun learning other languages. I won’t tell a Muslim not to learn Urdu or Arabic as it is their right,” Radhakrishnan further said.
Referring to the Prime Minister’s Independence Day address, he said Modi was the only PM who had spoken about the importance of family and children in developing a nation during the I-Day speech.