Dear all, At present two "hot topics" are drawing attention in the national newspapers:
1. Compulsory teaching of Sanskrit 2. Myths made reality, claims made for ancient India's achievements I came across the following articles and would like to share with you. Some of you might be interested in the same. . Centre confirms in Supreme Court affidavit: For KV, Sanskrit compulsory third language http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/sanskrit-to-be-3rd-langu age-in-classes-6-8-in-kvs-centre-tells-sc Language of the gods needs revival but not by compulsory teaching of Sanskrit http://tinyurl.com/ngrkgs4 "Anxiety over Sanskrit's slow death as a living language, which lies at the heart of the current language dispute over German, predates the cultural nationalism of BJP and RSS. As far back as 1857 Gujarati poet Dalpatram announced that the language of the gods had died. Bajirao II, the last Peshwa, had "performed its after-death rite with great pomp" and the best of kings observed "its yearly memorial", he lamented. It was this sense of loss that led to Sanskrit being introduced into the Constitution's Eighth Schedule as a national language in 1949. But so poor was its health at Independence that the first five Sahitya Akademi Awards in Sanskrit literature (1956-1966) were given to English and Hindi works on Sanskrit culture. Official patronage meant that Sanskrit survived only on "government feeding tubes and oxygen tanks", as scholar Sheldon Pollock memorably argued". . Myths made reality, bizarre claims made for ancient India's achievements http://tinyurl.com/l4ouq8l Tampering with scientific temper http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/tampering-with-scientific-temper/articl e6673585.ece?homepage=true Swami Vivekananda had said and I quote: "Astrology and all these mystical things are generally signs of a weak mind; therefore as soon as they are becoming prominent in our minds, we should see a physician, take good food, and rest." Check also the lecture MAN THE MAKER OF HIS DESTINY by Swami Vivekananda http://www.ramakrishnavivekananda.info/vivekananda/volume_8/notes_of_class_t alks_and_lectures/man_the_maker.htm An Indian Test of Indian Astrology (this linked is referred in the article Tampering with scientific temper mentioned above. http://www.csicop.org/si/show/an_indian_test_of_indian_astrology/ Regards, Wahid _______________________________________________ assam mailing list assam@assamnet.org http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
