NEW DELHI: Maintaining that Sanskrit language has been the source of values and ideals that have sustained India through the ages, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said the government would step up efforts to promote the ancient language.
Addressing the World Sanskrit Conference, Prime Minister said Sanskrit does not belong to any particular race, sect or religion. It represents a culture that was not narrow and sectarian but open, tolerant and all embracing, he added.
He said: “It is this spirit of liberalism and tolerance imbedded in Sanskrit that we must inculcate in our present-day life. The message of the ancient sages of India, who gave us the concept of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, the world as one family, continues to be of great significance to the world even today.”
Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal advocated inclusion of contemporary concepts into the old Sanskrit texts on various subjects, including science and medicine to widen the language scope and make them relevant and useful to the present-day situation.
Sibal said: “Within India, if there is unity amidst diversity, it should be attributable to Sanskrit. Almost all of our modern Indian languages are offshoots of Sanskrit, and owe most of their vocabulary and their forms of expressions to Sanskrit.”
“It is thus well accepted that Sanskrit is an ocean from which we can harvest gems and pearls of knowledge and wisdom by churning it purposefully- akin to the mythological churning of the ocean that yielded the Amritamanthana. I believe that the allegory of Amritamanthana has become more relevant in today’s world.”