Sanskrit being reduced to just a subject of discussion: Sheila Dikshit

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader and former Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit on Thursday said that the relevance of Sanskrit has been reduced to a subject of discussion and conferences in the country.

"Scholars are writing books in the language, poems and other literature is being cherished too but I feel enough is not being done for the language in the country and it is being reduced to just a subject of discussion and conferences," she said.

"It is not being promoted the way it should be or deserves to be. We also need to see how the language can be used more in day to day activities and not just remembered at specific places on specific days," she added.

Dikshit was addressing the gathering at a felicitation ceremony organised for Sanskrit scholars as part of the Akhil Bhartiya Sanskrit Sahitya Sammelan organised by Delhi Sanskrit Academy.

Ganeshdutt Sharma, Shashi Tiwari and Bhagirathi Nand were awarded with Sanskirit Gaurav Samman, Sanskrit Shree Samman and Sanskrit Bhusan Samman respectively for their contribution to the rich texts in language.

"Sanskrit needs to be promoted in a bigger way. We hardly come across two people conversing in the language. The institutions also need to workout how teaching of the language can be made simpler to attract more people towards it," Dikshit said.

Justice Hima Kohli, who was also present at the ceremony said the language is taken note of at events widely abroad but not in the country.

"In Greece, late former President APJ Abdul Kalam was greeted in Sanskrit, at the CWG games inauguration in Delhi British kids had chanted in Sanskrit, vedas were chanted in the same language in White House in 2009 when Barack Obama had lit a lamp on the occasion of Diwali," she said.

"But we do not see such an acknowledgement to the language in our country despite it being a strong foundation of our culture," she added.