Bhutanese debate over study of Sanskrit

Thimphu, May 11: Sanskrit may be a great subject for holistic studies but it isn't relevant at all to the job market, feel Bhutanese. The Institute of Language and Cultural Studies (ILCS) at Semtokha in Bhutan introduced a degree programme in 1999. Today, after about six batches of students have graduated from the institute, there is a debate going among linguistic and cultural experts and academicians about the importance and relevance of Sanskrit studies. Some experts argue that Sanskrit was not relevant in the syllabus as students after graduation joined the civil service or chose to become teachers. ILCS is going to have a revised new curriculum very soon that will have only one module of Sanskrit, a reduction from the existing three modules. The new curriculum is almost approved and we've kept in mind the relevancy of subjects for jobs, said ILCS Director Lungtaen Gyatsho. The ILCS is keeping one module of Sanskrit as it is the root to understand cultural philosophy, Dzongkha literature and grammar and therefore important for a language and cultural student, Gyatsho was quoted as saying by Kuensel. A Dzongkha (Bhutan's national language) expert working with government said sANSKRIT was only relevant for holistic studies. "It's not for students who want to find a job in the civil service or corporations," he said. Students said that they felt the pressure of making Sanskrit a main subject. "It's difficult to understand and, to make things worse, it's a compulsory subject," said a student. "I think it isn't relevant at all to the job market, especially when we have to compete for limited jobs," said another. But other experts argue that ILCS should study Sanskrit as it is "most useful for scholarly studies, research and comparative studies of culture and language". "It will give more understanding of our national language as Sanskrit is the root of Dzongkha grammar and literature," a Dzongkha language expert said. Director of academics at the Royal University of Bhutan, Yangka, said ILCS was not just grooming its students for the job market but have other objectives to promote language, culture and tradition. "Being an institute of language and cultural studies, it has to develop better understanding of our language and cultural realities and, most importantly, graduates should have a sound basis in their discipline of study," he said. "The concern is not only for jobs, its focus is also to develop a better understanding of culture and language." Some students even question why Sanskrit was not introduced in the Dzongkha honours programme in Sherubtse College if it was so important to understand the language. "The syllabus of ILCS is ignoring the scope for jobs and further studies," said a student. Bureau Report

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We should ponder why India is not encouraging Sanskrit - K.Venugopal - Mumbai