Is Sanskrit dead in India?

Rarely spoken as a mother tongue, Sanskrit is often dismissed as a dead language. The 4,000-year-old classical language was traditionally used by Brahmin intellectuals and Hindu priests. Rarely spoken as a mother tongue, Sanskrit is often dismissed as a dead language.

Is Sanskrit getting extinct?

One of the oldest languages in the world, Sanskrit, is in danger of becoming extinct in India, the country of its origin. Although most Indian languages still use the basic grammar of Sanskrit, no more than a few thousand people in a country of more than one billion can claim to read, write and speak it fluently.

Which is the second official language of Sanskrit in India?

In India, Sanskrit is among the 22 official languages of India in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. In 2010, Uttarakhand became the first state in India to make Sanskrit its second official language.

Why is the Indian government so obsessed with reviving Sanskrit?

But reviving the ancient language, which is so closely linked to Hinduism and Hindu religious texts, has always been a pet project for the BJP, the right-wing party that leads the new Indian government. In May, several of its new cabinet ministers chose to take their oath of office in Sanskrit.

Why is Sanskrit our mother language?

“It’s our mother language, the root of all our languages,” says Usha Ram, the school principal. “All over the world people try to preserve their traditions. Why not in India?” Sanskrit is a language which belongs to the Indo-Aryan group and is the root of many, but not all Indian languages.

Is Sanskrit a part of Indian culture?

“Sanskrit and Indian culture are intertwined as most of the indigenous knowledge is available in this language,” says a government leaflet sent out ordering schools to observe Sanskrit week. But it is precisely this fusion that is stirring up a new controversy in a country where language politics has always been an emotive and sensitive issue.