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Sanskrit in IITs

HRD Minister Smriti Irani has requested the IITs to include Sanskrit as a course of study.



HRD Minister Smriti Irani has requested the IITs to include Sanskrit as a course of study. Sanskrit and engineering may not have much in common, but the Modi government does not always do things by logic or reason. A school dropout that she is, Smriti Irani may be helped in understanding that exposing brilliant minds to a revered language is inadvisable and can have the opposite effect of what she intends to achieve. Rational minds may ask irreverent questions, point to blind spots in the language of the gods, thus committing unpatriotic acts and exposing themselves to the charge of being anti-national. A possible clash of science and non-science may not augur well for the RSS/Hindutva agenda she seeks to promote. 

Prime Minister Modi seems to have learnt his lessons after his remarks that genetic science and cosmetic surgery existed in ancient India were received with derision. He has so far spared the nation more such pearls of wisdom. It is difficult to explain to education-deprived leaders at the helm simple things such as a nation needs engineers more than priests, IITs may not be the best of places to teach Sanskrit, institutional autonomy needs to be respected and an education minister need not always meddle if educational institutions, especially those which have earned a reputation for excellence, are running without the benefit of her day-to-day supervision. 

Leaders like Modi and Smriti Irani are usually so sure about the correctness of their beliefs and goals that even the advisers and expert committees they appoint tell them what they want to hear. They are not free to suggest something outside the BJP/RSS agenda. A committee of the faithful has suggested that the IITs should “encourage students to learn about aspects of science and technology that are mentioned in Sanskrit texts”. If Sanskrit has to be introduced in IITs, why not other regional languages too? And why not in medical colleges and IIMs also? The simple fact is Sanskrit should not be imposed anywhere and maybe arts colleges and universities are more suitable than the IITs since Sanskrit integrates more comfortably with humanities than science.

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