A lifelong student of Indian civilization, Michel Danino authored The Lost River: On the Trail of the Sarasvati (Penguin India, 2010) and Indian Culture and India’s Future (DK Printworld, 2011), apart from many research papers and popular articles. With Prof. Kapil Kapoor he co-edited a two-volume textbook on Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India (2013 & 2015) for a CBSE elective course for class XI and XII. He also edited Sri Aurobindo and India’s Rebirth (Rupa Books, 2018). Since 2011, Michel Danino has been associated with IIT Gandhinagar, where he is currently visiting professor and assists the Archaeological Sciences Centre. Michel Danino is a former member of ICHR, a member of the Central Advisory Board on Culture, and of the National Steering Committee for the implementation of the National Education Policy 2020.

Abstract of the lecture:

Sanskrit in Indian education, from the 1957 Sanskrit Commission to the 1994 Supreme Court Judgement to the 2020 National Education Policy

Sanskrit has had a chequered history in India’s educational system. While the Sanskrit Commission of 1957 made a number of recommendations to promote its teaching and learning, its place has remained relatively minor both at school and in higher education, hampered by vague notions that Sanskrit is not relevant to present times, or learning it is specially difficult, or even that its teaching may be construed as unsecular. The 1994 judgement of the Supreme Court lay the last preconception to rest. But apart from systemic challenges, it has been argued that wrong pedagogies have done students of the language a disservice. In this talk, we will examine the place of Sanskrit in the current National Education Policy and reflect on its future in the world education.