Reviving Sanskrit: NEP's Role in India's Heritage

Abstract: The New Education Policy (NEP) 2020, introduced by the Government of India, signifies a transformative shift in the nation’s approach to education. One of its most remarkable features is the renewed emphasis on classical languages, particularly Sanskrit. Sanskrit, revered as the mother of many Indian languages and the repository of ancient Indian wisdom, has long been marginalized in mainstream education. The NEP seeks to rectify this imbalance by promoting Sanskrit as a language of not just historical or literary importance but also of contemporary relevance. This paper critically examines how NEP 2020 integrates Sanskrit within the larger framework of educational reform by enabling access to ancient knowledge systems, encouraging multidisciplinary studies, fostering research, and ensuring linguistic diversity. The policy aims to make Sanskrit accessible across educational levels through curriculum reform, teacher training, digital integration, and incentivized research. Despite challenges such as lack of modern pedagogical tools and limited faculty, the NEP opens new avenues for the language’s revitalization. By positioning Sanskrit as an intellectual and cultural bridge between India’s past and future, the policy presents an opportunity to reshape the educational landscape with deeper cultural rootedness.