Sanskrit, an ancient Indian language, is returning to Pakistani classrooms for the first time since partition in 1947.
According to a report in The Tribune, the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) has launched a four-credit course in the classical language after a three-month long weekend workshop which has attracted a lot of interest from students and scholars.
As part of the Sanskrit course, Pakistani students will also be exposed to an Urdu rendition of “Hai katha sangram ki”, the iconic theme from the TV series Mahabharat, The Tribune reported.
Pakistan has one of the richest but most neglected Sanskrit archives in the Punjab University Library, said Dr. Ali Usman Qasmi, Director of Gurmani Centre.
“An important collection of Sanskrit palm-leaf manuscripts was cataloged in the 1930s by scholar JCR Woolner, but no Pakistani academic has dealt with the collection since 1947. It is only used by foreign researchers. Trained local scholars will change that,” he told The Tribune.
Dr Qasmi said the university aims to bring courses on Mahabharata and Bhagavad Gita. “In 10-15 years, we could see Pakistani scholars of Gita and Mahabharata.”
According to the report, Associate Professor at Forman Christian College, Dr Shahid Rasheed, was the driving force behind the introduction of the course.
“The classical languages contain much wisdom for mankind,” said Dr. Rasheed and at the same time shared that he knows Arabic, Persian and Sanskrit. He said he had to rely on online platforms to learn these languages.
“It took me almost a year to learn classical Sanskrit grammar. And I’m still studying it,” he said.
Dr Rasheed said he was often questioned about his decision to study Sanskrit and said, “I tell them why shouldn’t we learn it? It is the binding language of the entire region. In this region, the village of Sanskrit grammarian Panini was there.”
“A lot was written here during the Indus Valley Civilization. Sanskrit is like a mountain – a cultural monument. We have to own it. It is also ours, it is not tied to any particular religion,” he added.
