In a first since partition, a course on ancient language Sanskrit has been introduced in a university in Pakistan, The Tribune reported. The Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) has introduced the course, with Hindu mythologies like Mahabharat and Gita on the cards too. “People ask me why I’m learning 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,” The Tribune quoted associate professor, Shahid Rasheed, who is at the heart of the initiative saying. “A significant collection of Sanskrit palm-leaf manuscripts were 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,” the news outlet quoted the director of the Gurmani Centre, Ali Usman Qasmi, saying.“In 10-15 years, we could see Pakistan-based scholars of the Gita and the Mahabharata,” Qasmi added.
The Sanskrit course began as a three-month weekend workshop only to eventually become a four-credit university course after it received an overwhelming response. “After we saw the response, we decided to introduce it as a proper university course. Even though the number of students is still small, we hope it will grow over the next few years. Ideally, by spring 2027, we should be able to teach the language as a year-long course,” the director said.
