14th April 2025 – For years, it has been believed that Sanskrit has become a dead language with no future. As per the 2011 Census done by the Government of India, there are a little over 24,000 speakers of the language. Given the huge population of Bharat, this number is miniscule. However, almost all the major Bharatiya languages are progenies of Sanskrit which makes for a strong case of it being taught and learned at both school and university levels.
Working in this direction, Uttarakhand has taken a leap forward. The state government has announced that one village each in 13 of its districts will be designated as the Adarsh Sanskrit Gram. Under this project, the government wishes to revive the usage of Dev-Vaani Sanskrit and integrate it into the daily lives of the villagers.
The notable villages that have been chosen for this project include Noorpur Panjhanhedi, Bhogpur, Kotgaon, Dimmar, Goda and Baiji.
As per Dr. Dhan Singh Rawat, the state’s Sanskrit Education Minister, “Dev-vani Sanskrit is the second official language of the state, and for its preservation and promotion, the state government has announced one Adarsh Sanskrit Gram in each district. The Sanskrit language will be promoted in these villages, and the new generation will be connected to Indian philosophy and knowledge tradition through Sanskrit.”
In 2010, Sanskrit was made one of the official languages of Uttarakhand and since then, several initiatives are being taken by the state government to promote the ancient language. The state currently has over 100 Sanskrit medium schools.
