Sanskrit Studies Back in Pakistani Classroom! Scholars Hope Languages to Become Bridges, not Barriers
NEW DELHI, Dec 12: Sounds strange, but for the first time since partition of the country, Sanskrit surprisingly has made its way back into classrooms in Pakistan.
The Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) has launched a four-credit course in the classical language, an initiative that grew out of a three-month weekend workshop which saw strong interest from students and scholars.
As part of the course, students are also being exposed to the Urdu rendition of “Hai katha sangram ki”, the iconic theme from the Mahabharat television series.
According to Dr Ali Usman Qasmi, Director of the Gurmani Centre, Pakistan has one of the richest yet most neglected Sanskrit archives at the Punjab University library. “A significant collection of Sanskrit palm-leaf manuscripts was catalogued in the 1930s by scholar JCR Woolner, but no Pakistani academic has engaged with this collection since 1947. Only foreign researchers use it. Training scholars locally will change that,” he said.
The university also aims to expand with upcoming courses on the Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita. “In 10-15 years, we could see Pakistan-based scholars of the Gita and the Mahabharata,” Dr Qasmi said. The change has been brought about through the efforts of Dr Shahid Rasheed, Associate Professor of Sociology at Forman Christian College.
“Classical languages contain much wisdom for mankind. I started with learning Arabic and Persian, and then studied Sanskrit,” Dr Rasheed said. Adding that he relied on learning through online platforms, studying under Cambridge Sanskrit scholar Antonia Ruppel and Australian Indologist McComas Taylor. “It took almost a year to cover classical Sanskrit grammar. And I’m still studying it.”
Dr Rasheed said that people often question his choice to study Sanskrit. “I tell them, why should we not learn it? It is the binding language of the entire region. Sanskrit grammarian Panini’s village was in this region. Much writing was done here during the Indus Valley Civilisation. Sanskrit is like a mountain – a cultural monument. We need to own it. It is ours too; it’s not tied to any one particular religion.”
He said South Asia would see a more cohesive state of affairs if people try to learn each other’s classical traditions. “Imagine if more Hindus and Sikhs in India started learning Arabic, and more Muslims in Pakistan took up Sanskrit, it could be a fresh, hopeful start for South Asia, where languages become bridges instead of barriers.”
(Manas Dasgupta)
