Maran Goes Majoritarian in Tirade on Sanskrit

On Tuesday, Tamil Nadu MP Dayanidhi Maran raised the issue of translation of parliamentary proceedings in Sanskrit, a minority language spoken by only 73,000 people, according to him.

- KUSHAGRA ANIKET

On Tuesday, Tamil Nadu MP Dayanidhi Maran raised the issue of translation of parliamentary proceedings in Sanskrit, a minority language spoken by only 73,000 people, according to him. Translation of MPs’ speeches into Sanskrit, a language that has been declared “dead” by its detractors, may understandably invite surprise or even ridicule. However, the charged animosity displayed by Mr. Maran towards a “dead” language is telling. Hardly anybody leads demonstrations against the building of museums or raises slogans to cut the budget of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on the grounds that they do nothing except perpetuating the relics of the past. Why, then, should the MP single out the government’s minimal expenditure on Sanskrit translations?

Perhaps there is a lingering fear that Sanskrit—long presumed “dead” and forgotten—might not be dead after all. Perhaps its 3.2 million speakers (first, second, and third language speakers) identified in the 2011 census are rapidly growing. And perhaps the right set of government and private initiatives will revive this language in our times.