Sanskrit Tries to Make a Comeback But…

Schools across India recently spent a week learning Sanskrit, India’s ancient language, with ties to early Indian culture and  Hinduism.

But not all Indians are happy with this new focus on Sanskrit, mandated by the government elected this spring.

Tamils are the most vocal opponents.  According to BBC News, “the Tamil language is not derived from Sanskrit and many …see it as a move by Hindu nationalists to impose their culture on religious and linguistic minorities.”

The government denies this. Although less than 1% of Indians speak Sanskrit, the government says that “Sanskrit and Indian culture are intertwined…”

This sounds a little like the effort in this country to mandate English as the official language.

My thanks to my colleague,  James Dahlgren for sending me the link to this story.