Call for Papers
Seminar Topic

“How to Make Samskrita as the Medium of Intellectual Discourse in India”

Submissions are invited from scholars, linguists, Sanskritists, traditional knowledge seekers and practitioners, and educationists on how to make Samskrita as the medium of intellectual discourse in India.

Chair

Dr. Indulata Das, Educationist and Samskritist

Background

“Samskrita language, as has been recognized by those competent to form a judgment, is one of the most magnificent, the most perfect, the most prominent and wonderfully sufficient literary instrument developed by the human mind” said Sri Aurobindo. Known as Devbhasha i.e. the language of gods, Samskrita was the language of intellectual discourse in India since time immemorial. The Indian civilizational knowledge system is mostly preserved in Samskrita which makes available to the posterity vast corpus encompassing scientific, technical, philosophical religious as well as a rich tradition of poetry and drama.

Samskrita has been subjected to neglect for long and even sought to be relegated to the background. It is really a matter of concern that today a very microscopic size of the population has access to the language in which all the civilizational wisdom has been preserved and made extant. But, the history, philosophy, indigenous sciences and literature lie beyond the reach of the majority of the population because of the language barrier. Most of the Indians are alien to the treasure kept concealed in the chest of Sanskrit. History of the land is written largely out of imagination because most of the historians are ignorant of the language in which historical evidences are preserved. Students of subjects like Ayurveda etc. have to depend mainly on the translations due to lack of strong background knowledge in Sanskrit. Improper and insufficient impartment of Sanskrit education has almost handicapped the researchers, scholars, educationists and interested individuals in many ways. Attempts at redefining India in civilizational terms depends largely on promoting Sanskrit learning and research in related areas. Instead of being confined to a microscopic few, Sanskrit has to be accessed by the large part of intelligentsia. The aim of the session is to attract the attention of the scholars towards the study of Samskrit so as to develop it as medium of intellectual discourse of India by taking measures to strengthen it through vocabulary building and by encouraging further research in the area.

Areas of Study

1. Indian civilization and Sanskrit
2. Uniqueness of Sanskrit vis-à-vis other languages of the world
3. Gigantic grammar of Sanskrit
4. Status of teaching of Sanskrit in the curriculum
5. Indian history and Sanskrit language
6. Present status of Sanskrit in India

The scholar may also choose any other topic highlighting the Sanskrit language and Indian civilization.

Guidelines

Medium: Presentations and live discussion in Samskrita are desirable.

Deadlines

Submission of abstract: Scholars are requested to submit the abstract of the papers on or before 25^th October 2009.
Submission of paper: Scholars are requested to submit their full paper on or before 15^th November 2009.

Submission Process:

Where to send: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (via e-mail)
Postal Address: Lower Ground Floor,  B-27, Defence Colony,  New Delhi - 110024

Selection of  papers: A selection committee will scrutinize the papers. If selected intimations to present the paper in the seminar will be dispatched through post or Email. Scholars are requested to give their postal address and Email (if any.).

Travel Grants: A limited no. of travel grants are available from third parties and private sponsors, to those who are approved by the selection committee. Students in master’s or Ph.D.  program will be given preference for travel grants.