Proposed Sanskrit university gets name, but details unclear

KOLKATA: Education minister Partha Chatterjee on Tuesday held a meeting with chief secretary Sanjay Mitra to implement chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s plan of setting up a full-fledged Sanskrit university in the state. Though other details are yet to be finalized, it has been decided that the university will be named Paschim Banga Sanskrito Viswa vidyalaya.
“We are trying to work out where to set up the university. We can upgrade Sanskrit College into a university or set up one in Nadia and bring all the tols under one umbrella,” said Chatterjee.
According to the minister, the university will give a huge fillip to studies and research on one of the most ancient languages known to mankind. However, he said it was too early to say when the university will start functioning.
In February, Mamata Banerjee had announced setting up of a Sanskrit university. Nrisingha Prasad Bhaduri, chairperson of the committee formed to make the Sanskrit university a reality, said, “It is a grand plan. Something that was long needed is finally taking shape. What started as an upgrade project of Sanskrit College gradually snowballed into the idea of a full-fledged university. On the one hand, we will try to preserve the whole reserve of manuscripts that lie unattended across the state. Also, we need to bring the dying tols under one umbrella. Sanskrit College itself needs a lot of attention because no exam has taken place in the tol section for over a decade now.”