On Wednesday, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said that the government is working on a New Education Policy (NEP). Under this policy, all Indian languages, including Sanskrit, will be given a boost in Indian schools.

He said that, while he feels English is a good language, the country has anglicised its people after the independence more than the British did. Hence, the Indian government’s new education policy states that there should be a promotion of all Indian languages in the schools. He acknowledged that the previous commissions had fairly given a notable place to the Sanskrit language already, and this would be taking it a step further.

Mr. Javadekar spoke at the inauguration of an event which included many institutions like the Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan. It was decided that these institutions will go to schools to conduct weeklong activities and contests to encourage the students to take up Sanskrit.

Promoting the country’s culture

He commented that all the languages of India have their speciality. A debate was held in the Parliament as they moved towards the NEP, and the proposal to develop Indian languages in schools remained unopposed as it promotes our country’s culture.

All over the world, Sanskrit and its high-quality literature and other works are included in universities, he said. Many students of Indian schools choose to study Sanskrit because it has the reputation as a ‘scoring subject’. He said that whatever the motivation may be, it is good that the language is being chosen and studied.

A public draft of inputs on the NEP has been put forward by the government, and feedback is awaited.