Online spoken Sanskrit classes organised by IIT Roorkee concluded on Sunday with Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' saying the initiative would sensitise the younger generation to the uniqueness of one of the world's oldest languages.
"Sanskrit is one of the oldest languages of the world. There is a need to sensitise the new age generation towards the uniqueness and significance of Sanskrit language. Such initiatives go a long way in sensitising the young generation towards preserving the Indian culture and knowledge systems," the Union minister said addressing the valedictory session.
The 12-day online spoken Sanskrit classes titled "Subhashitam Samskritam" was organised by the Sanskrit Club of IIT Roorkee in association with Samskrita Bharati.
In his appreciation letter, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also commended the initiative of IIT Roorkee and Samskrita Bharati.
Sanskrit has been an integral part of the Indian tradition and its scriptures have been vehicles of expression of Indian wisdom, philosophy, science, and ethics, the PM said. Such events play an instrumental role in enabling participants to develop a keen interest in the language he said.
Director of IIT Roorkee Ajit K Chaturvedi thanked both the Prime Minister and the Union minister for Human Resource Development for their encouragement.
The programme was launched on Guru Purnima and was open to all with a workable knowledge of an Indian language anywhere in the world. It imparted spoken Sanskrit lessons free of cost via the WebEx platform and YouTube live.
Around 3,000 people in the age group between 18 to 40 years from 20 countries attended the classes, the organisers said.
