Introduce Sanskrit in schools from Class III: RSS-affiliate tells Gujarat govt

The RSS-affiliated Samskrita Bharati has sought that the Gujarat government introduce the Sanskrit language from Class III in the form of songs, shlokas, and small stories, claiming its suggestion was based on the National Education Policy 2020.Confirming the development, Himanjay Paliwal, organising secretary of Gujarat state Samskrita Bharati, said, We have requested the state government to introduce Sanskrit from primary school.

The RSS-affiliated Samskrita Bharati has sought that the Gujarat government introduce the Sanskrit language from Class III in the form of ''songs, shlokas, and small stories'', claiming its suggestion was based on the National Education Policy 2020.

Confirming the development, Himanjay Paliwal, organising secretary of Gujarat state Samskrita Bharati, said, ''We have requested the state government to introduce Sanskrit from primary school. We want it to be introduced from Class 3 in the form of songs, shlokas, and small stories.'' ''Our suggestion to the Gujarat government is based on the National Education Policy 2020. Sanskrit is the key to the Indian language system, and if we understand and learn Sanskrit, we shall be better positioned to understand the Indian knowledge system,'' Paliwal claimed.

The Himachal Pradesh government has introduced Sanskrit from Class III, while in Chhattisgarh, it is being taught from Class II itself, Paliwal said.

''If Sanskrit is introduced early on, it will enrich other Indian languages like Gujarati. Because we have sidelined Sanskrit, we are losing our own lexicon,'' he added.

As per the National Education Policy, ''Sanskrit will thus be offered at all levels of school and higher education as an important, enriching option for students.'' ''It will be taught in ways that are interesting and experiential as well as contemporarily relevant. Sanskrit textbooks at the foundational and middle school level may be rewritten in Simple Standard Sanskrit (SSS) to teach Sanskrit through Sanskrit (STS) and make its study truly enjoyable,'' says Section 4.16 of the NEP.

Samskrita Bharati is a non-profit organisation with a pan-India presence working to revive Sanskrit.

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