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The Hindu American Foundation wrote this letter to the Washington Post in response to an article that mischaracterized both the contemporary use of Sanskrit and its revival within camps in India. The original article was published on June 15 and our response was published on June 21.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/20/AR2008062002697.html
Dear Editor,
The Washington Post article "Summer Camp Revives India's Ancient Sanskrit" (Sunday, June 15, 2008), written by Rama Lakshmi of the Washington Post Foreign Service, unnecessarily infuses the emerging Indian movement to renew the study of Sanskrit with ideological overtones.
Lakshmi depicts the movement as tied to Hindu nationalist attempts to assert dominance in a pluralist nation. This is an unsubstantiated assumption that demeans the efforts of millions of Hindus to reconnect with their linguistic heritage that is the wellspring of a plurality of Indic languages.
The article refers to Sanskrit as a "language long dismissed as dead." This is inaccurate. Sanskrit is the liturgical language of Hinduism and is used daily by millions of Hindus worldwide.
Lakshmi should have been clear that the voices opposing Sanskrit studies in India today belong to the radical left and communist parties that belong to the current ruling coalition in New Delhi, and not in the mainstream of public opinion.
Thank You,
Ishanaa Rambachan
Media Relations
Hindu American Foundation
www.hafsite.org
The Hindu American Foundation
is a non-profit 501(c)(3), non-partisan organization, promoting
the Hindu and American ideals of understanding, tolerance
and pluralism.
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