Sanskrit helps nurture knowledge, strengthens national unity, says PM Modi

New Delhi, Aug 29: Urging the citizens to cherish and preserve Sanskrit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the language helps nurture knowledge and strengthens national unity.
Addressing the 80th edition of his monthly radio programme ‘Mann ki Baat’, Prime Minister Modi said, “Through its thoughts and medium of literary texts, Sanskrit helps nurture knowledge and also national unity, strengthens it. Sanskrit literature comprises the divine philosophy of humanity and knowledge which can captivate anyone’s attention.”
He said the efforts made in recent times have brought a new awareness about Sanskrit.
“It is our collective duty to cherish our heritage, preserve it, pass it on to the new generation…. and future generations also have a right to it. Now is the time to increase everyone’s efforts for these works as well. Friends, if you know of any such person engaged in this kind of effort if you have any such information, then please share the information related to them on social media with #CelebratingSanskrit,” PM Modi urged.
He said that he got to know about many people who are engaged in the ‘inspirational’ work of teaching Sanskrit in foreign lands. He mentioned an Irish national Rutger Kortenhorst who is a Sanskrit scholar and teaches Sanskrit to the children in Ireland.
“Sanskrit language also plays an important role in the strengthening of cultural relations between India and Ireland and between India and Thailand here in the east. Dr Chirapat Prapandavidya and Dr Kusuma Rakshamani, both of them are playing a very important role in the promotion of the Sanskrit language in Thailand. They have also carried out comparative studies in the literature of Thai and Sanskrit languages. Another such professor is Shriman Boris Zakharin, who teaches Sanskrit at Moscow State University in Russia. He has published many research papers and books. He has also translated many books from Sanskrit to Russian,” stated Prime Minister.
Prime Minister Modi mentioned about Sydney Sanskrit School in Australia, where the Sanskrit language is taught to the students. For children, these schools also organise programs like Sanskrit Grammar Camp, Sanskrit Plays and Sanskrit Day.
Meanwhile lauding the ongoing Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his 80th edition of ‘Mann ki Baat’ radio programme lauded Indore city’s progress and talked about the city’s decision to maintain a ‘Water Plus City’.
“We know very well that whenever the topic Swachh Bharat Abhiyan comes up, the name of Indore also arises because Indore has created a special identity of its own in relation to cleanliness and the people of Indore are also entitled to felicitations. Our Indore has remained at number one in ‘Swachh Bharat Ranking’ for many years. Now the people of Indore do not want to sit satisfied with this ranking of Swachh Bharat, they want to move forward, want to do something new. And now they have decided to maintain a ‘Water Plus City’ and are striving for it with all their might,” the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister said that ‘Water Plus City’ means a city where no sewage is dumped into any public water source without treatment.
“The citizens here themselves have come forward and connected their drains with the sewer line. A cleanliness campaign has also been started and due to this the polluted water draining in the Saraswati and Kanh rivers has also reduced considerably and an improvement is visible,” the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister said, “Today, when our country is celebrating the Amrit Mahotsav of Independence, we have to remember that we should never let the resolve of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan diminish. The greater the number of cities which are ‘Water Plus City’ in our country, cleanliness will increase further, our rivers will also become clean and we will be fulfilling values associated with humane responsibility of conserving water.”

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