Assam govt decision on Sanskrit angers parties, students

The Assam Cabinet’s decision to introduce Sanskrit as a compulsory subject till Class VIII has evoked sharp criticism from students organisations and opposition political parties in the State.

The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) has criticised the decision to make Sanskrit compulsory instead of promoting Assamese in schools.

“We are not opposed to the Cabinet decision but the government should clarify whether now there will be the four-language formula in Assam instead of the three-language formula followed in other States”, AASU chief advisor Samujjal Bhattacharya said on Thursday.

No compromise

Moreover, there can be no compromise with the teaching of Assamese in schools and the language has to be a part of the syllabus in the State, he added.

Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) also alleged that the move was a “well-orchestrated conspiracy are being micro managed and monitored from Nagpur (the RSS headquarters)”.

The State government was preparing to “recruit Sanskrit teachers from outside since the State now lacks the required strength but we won’t allow teachers from outside the State to be recruited in our schools,” AJYCP president Biraj Kumar Talukdar said.