GUWAHATI, Aug 7 - Emphasising the need of expansion and preservation of Sanskrit language for overall development of society, Dr Saharuddin Ahmed, former Director of the Assam State Museum, has urged the State government to take necessary steps to popularise the language among the masses.
Addressing the annual Pundit Ganganath Shastri Memorial Lecture on �Expansion of Sanskrit education�, Dr Ahmed, delivering the speech in Sanskrit, also spoke on making the language a mandatory subject in the school and college level in the State.
�If we want the society to grow, we must take lessons from Sanskrit literature and culture. If we can make the Sanskrit language popular among the masses, then only society will grow in the days to come,� he said.
Organised by Pundit Ganganath Shastri Memorial Educational Trust in a city-based auditorium on Tuesday, the lecture was followed by felicitation of the students who secured highest marks in Sanskrit in the recently concluded Assam High School Leaving Certificate Examination (HSLC) and Assam Higher Secondary School Leaving certificate Examination (HSSLC) examinations.
Inaugurating the programme, president of Kamrup District Sahitya Sabha, Mrinalini Devi, spoke on the importance of popularising Sanskrit language among the common people, irrespective of caste and religion.
Addressing the gathering, Dr Banikanta Sharma, retired professor of Gauhati University, thanked the organisers for their efforts to felicitate the students who secured highest marks in Sanskrit in the HSLC and HSSLC examinations. �This kind of initiatives will definitely create awareness among the masses about the Sanskrit language,� Dr Sharma said.
Late Ganganath Shastri is a prominent name in the Sanskrit literature of the State. Born on March 14, 1906 at Jowardi village of undivided Kamrup district, now Nalbari district, he was awarded with President�s Medal as a Sanskrit teacher in the year 1984. Till his death on August 6, 2006 at the age of 101 years, he wrote altogether 13 books.
Kanak Chandra Sharma, former vice president of Asom Sahitya Sabha, Dipak Sharma of Veda Vidyalaya, Jyotirmoy Sharma, one of the organisers of the event, and others also spoke during the programme.
