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Sanskrit a minority language?
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the states of Punjab, Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh to take a decision on a petitioner’s prayer that Sanskrit be accorded the status of a minority language. The petitioner, Hemant Goswami, averred that Sankrit is a dying language and requires steps to preserve it. In a petition filed before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Hemant Goswami prayed that Sanskrit be accorded the status of a minority language. The petitioner noted that Sanskrit is an ancient language intimately tied to the culture of India. He said that it had suffered after the advent of the British and subsequently also.
The Census of 2001 recorded only about 14,000 Sanskrit speakers in the entire country. Goswami argued that according Minority Language status to Sanskrit would revive the language. When contacted, the Director of the Chandigarh Sanskrit Academy expressed his agreement with the petition. The bench has now directed the UT Administration and the government of Punjab and Haryana to decide on the petition