'Those who made attempts to destroy Sanskrit were unsuccessful, will never succeed': PM Modi in MP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday cited the importance of Sanskrit as he asserted it is not only the language of traditions but it is also the language of our “progress and identity.” While addressing a public rally at Tulsi Peeth in Madhya Pradesh's Chitrakoot, the Prime Minister launched a scathing attack on the Anti-Sanskrit lobby stating that the colonial mindset has led to the shaming of the language which is the mother of all the languages. 

PM Modi said, “Sanskrit is the mother of several languages. Sanskrit is the language of our progress and identity. Premium universities and institutes across the globe are conducting research. The language is gaining momentum globally.”

Speaking about the slavery and the destruction of Sanskrit, he said, "Several attempts were made to destroy India during the 1,000 years of slavery. There were attempts made to destroy the Sanskrit language completely. We got Independence, but those with a mentality of slavery kept a biased opinion and feelings of hostility towards Sanskrit. They don't appreciate the oldest language of their own nation. If people know their mother tongue, other countries will appreciate it, but they consider knowing the Sanskrit language as a sign of backwardness," he added.

He further said that people with this mentality have been unsuccessful for the last one thousand years and will not succeed in the future.

PM Modi further said that Sanskrit got refined with time but did not get polluted asserting that our culture is still intact and steadfast.

"How many languages have come and gone in the world over these thousands of years? New languages replaced the old languages. But our culture is still intact and steadfast. Sanskrit got refined with time but did not get polluted," he said.

PM Modi also shed light on Ashtadhyayi which is a thousand-year-old text of India's linguistics. ​In the last 9 years, we have made extensive efforts for the expansion of Sanskrit. In the modern context, texts like Ashtadhyayi Bhashya will play a big role in making these efforts successful. Ashtadhyayi encapsulates grammar and the science of language in pithy capsules."