You can be termed 'Bhagwa' if you promote Sanskrit: Smriti Irani

LUCKNOW: Launching a web portal and a mobile application 'Bharatavani' which will contain various subjects like agriculture, economics and sciences in 22 Indian languages at the Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, union minister for human resource development Smriti Irani said that the app is not only a gift to the language lovers of India but a reflection of India’s vast cultural heritage and its linguistic diversity to the world.
Speaking on Sanskrit and artificial intelligence, Irani said, an article written by a NASA researcher Rick Briggs in 1980s found a symbiotic relationship between the two. Briggs, said Irani was taken by surprise when he said India's 100-year-old Sanskrit language is the oldest living knowledge giving language.
"Had this been said by a common Indian citizen or an academic, they would have been termed as 'bhagwa' (saffron-supporter). But we were fortunate that this was said by an American," said Irani, adding that this is why Indian citizens have a natural inclination towards technology.
She continued that an American from Cornell University's mathematics department, who visited the library in Kanchipuram in 1990s went back only to write a paper on geometry which was titled as 'Shulba Sutras'.
"He said that the oldest geometry book is available in India and is in Sanskrit. This was appreciated by all. I wonder what would have happened to an Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) professor if she would have dared to do this," Irani said, on the eve of the second anniversary of the Bharatiya Janata Party government.
She further said, "It's true that when there is a discussion or controversy on Indian languages, it’s the philologist who is at fault. The language lover is treated as someone spreading communalism. Often, it is seen that when 'outsiders' compliment anything about India, it becomes more valuable for Indians," said Irani.
Recently, newspapers, said Irani were taken by a storm flashing out headlines that Smriti Irani has asked IITs to teach Sanskrit. "It was a first-of-its-kind experience, in the world, leave alone India, when I was penalized for promoting my own language." Irani said.