HYDERABAD: In a novel initiative, IIT-Hyderabad will be establishing a Non-Formal Sanskrit Education Centre (NFSE) under the guidance of Central Sanskrit University (CSU), New Delhi. The CSU will offer a course called the Prathama-Diksha which is expected to begin in October. It is the prerequisite for doing the Dvitiya-Diksha (a diploma course). This Centre will host an introductory Sanskrit course on the IIT-H campus, and everyone including students, faculty, staff, family of faculty/staff, and even people outside IIT-H can enrol themselves for the course.
A preparatory session will be hosted to share more details and clarify doubts about the course. Classes will be held at the IIT-H campus. It provides a unique opportunity to learn Sanskrit joyfully and the study material will be provided by CSU.
Sharing the vision behind the course, Director, IIT-H, Prof B S Murty, said:”IIT-H has established a Department of Heritage Science and Technology (HST) and under this functions a cell named Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) Cell. It has been set up to nurture an awareness of traditional Indian knowledge systems (sastras) in the IIT-H community.
“The main focus of IKS in IIT-H is to discover knowledge in the traditional Indian systems, carry out research on their scientific aspects and disseminate the outcomes to the world. I strongly believe that the IKS Cell has great potential to act as a bridge between traditional knowledge and modern technologies. As Sanskrit is the gateway to ancient Indian knowledge, courses like Prathama-Diksha play a critical role in achieving this goal,” he added.
Welcoming the move, Emani Sivanagi Reddy, archaeologist and epigraphist said: “Sanskrit has a long line of history and most of our scriptures between 4 AD to 18 AD have a bearing on Indian culture and heritage. The present generation is alienated from Sanskrit and is totally reliant on English translations. They are not able to enjoy Sanskrit’s prosody and melody. It is heartening to see institutions like IIT-H introduce such courses.”