India’s 3 central Sanskrit universities hope to spread Shastraic education globally

• India will now have three central Sanskrit universities — Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth, Delhi, and Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth in Tirupati.
  
• This is after the Parliament gave a nod to the Central Sanskrit Universities Bill, 2020, which sought to convert the three deemed-to-be universities into central universities.
  
• The move will promote Sanskrit at a global level and offer integrated courses in humanities, social sciences, and science, thereby preserving Sanskrit and other allied subjects.
  

The Indian government has given central university status to three Sanskrit universities, allowing them to gain international recognition..

Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth, Delhi, and Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth in Tirupati received recognition from the government.

“Sanskrit language is not only a language but an identity of the great cultural diversity of this country and hence it is known as an unique language. Due to these factors, it has become imperative to promote the study and research in Sanskrit language. Hence, the government proposed to convert these three deemed-to-be universities into Central Sanskrit Universities,” said the Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank.’

Nishank elaborated that Sanskrit is a unique language in terms of grammar, meaning, pronunciation and accuracy, adding that Devanagari script is also derived from Sanskrit.

The Parliament gave a nod to the Central Sanskrit Universities Bill, 2020. The bill had sought the conversion of the three deemed-to-be universities into central universities.

The aim is to promote Sanskrit at a global level and offer integrated courses in humanities, social sciences, and science along with it.

“These three universities will have more opportunities to spread the knowledge of Sanskrit language not only in India but also across the world in a better way. The world is looking towards Sanskrit language therefore it is being taught not only in Indian colleges and universities but also in top universities across the globe,” he added.

As of now, India nearly has 18 Sanskrit universities with over 100 colleges teaching the language. However, none of them had National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) accreditation. The move will provide NAAC accreditation to the universities on the basis of their research, curriculum, faculty and infrastructure.

After becoming central universities, they will be able to participate in university rankings — both national and international — such as the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) and the QS Rankings.

The development will allow the universities to create their own courses of study and training programmes, grant degree certificates, distance education and an autonomous status.

“The Central University status awarded to these three universities will enhance the status of these universities and will give a boost to postgraduate, doctoral, post-doctoral education and research practices in the field of Sanskrit and Shastraic education. This will pave the way for many people from abroad to learn Sanskrit and Shastraic lore from these prestigious central Sanskrit universities in our country,” the ministry said.

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