Address (Excerpts) by Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar at the release of the 'English-Sanskrit Dictionary' at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in New Delhi on August 21, 2024.

New Delhi | August 21, 2024

These are times when institution of senior advocate to which I belong at one point of time is getting strained for dilution of professional ethical values. An institution that should have risen according to the mechanism made for it. Day in and day out I suffer the pain of members of this institution not living up to the standards of the institution. He is a beacon, ray of hope.

Why I have digressed? The country went through epochal change of getting new legislations. The change was from Dand Vidhan to Nyaya Vidhan. The change was from Dand to Data.

Data in English, Danda in Hindi. That was a big change that was brought about. We had distinguished senior advocates, members of Rajya Sabha. They ought to have participated in the debate. They ought to have contributed. Leading lights, I don't want to name them because as a personal commitment and the position I hold, do not permit me to make reflections of that kind but what pains me enormously is that these gentlemen make an outcry in public domain as if nothing happened in Rajya Sabha.

When one of them said he had come out with great objections, the one who had been finance minister of this country, a regular columnist, he said, I had given my objections to the committee. I could not sleep without going through the objections, my office is prompt. They made available objections to me.

The objections were in less than three pages and the main objection was, there should be no penalty of death. Coming to the rescue of terrorists, rapists, enemies of the nation, and such a dichotomy in one's behavior. He happened to be in the governor's seat when we had the painful incident of Nirbhaya and that was there.

The largest democracy home to one-sixth of humanity is getting challenges. We will withstand those challenges but the challenges coming from within, from intelligentsia. That is unacceptable.

We are facing times when informed people, knowledgeable people, People who believe in constitutionalism were part of governance of this country try to lead us astray. Knowing well they are not on the right path. They had no incline something happened in a neighboring country. Joyfully two of them, one had been a Minister and a distinguished member of legal fraternity and the other one a member of the Indian Foreign Service that this can happen in India. भारत में क़तई संभव नहीं है।

एक कालखंड आया था जब एक लाख दस हज़ार से ज्यादा लोगों को कालकोठरी में डाल दिया गया था। कानून नाम की कोई चीज थी नहीं, पराकाष्ठा थी सत्ता के आतंकवाद की। It was a dictatorship in full play. The presidency failed. Nine High Courts stood the ground, but the Supreme Court failed.

Supreme Court held,सरकार इमरजेंसी लगा सकती है। इमरजेंसी में आपकी कोई अधिकार नहीं है। इमरजेंसी कब तक चलेगी, सरकार तय करेगी। हमको किसी भी परिस्थिति में भारत के स्वतंत्रता के बाद इस काले अध्याय को नहीं भूलना चाहिए।

कौन थे वह लोग, जिन्हें जेल में डाला गया? अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी प्रधानमंत्री बने, चौधरी चरण सिंह प्रधानमंत्री बने, बाबू जगजीवन राम उप-प्रधानमंत्री बने, राष्ट्रपति बने, Governors बने। ऐसे तपस्वी लोगों को सत्ता से चिपके रहने के लिए प्रताड़ित करना? That was a draconian phase, the darkest period of our democracy, that can never occur.

आज मैंने इस दुनिया के देशों को कहा है, अफ्रीका से छह उपराष्ट्रपति आए थे। करीब 50 के करीब देशों का representation था। भारत ने हजारों साल के इतिहास में कभी सीमा लांघने का काम नहीं किया।

We as a Nation have never believed in expansion. We have believed in one thing, only in Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam-that was the motto of G20 : One Earth, One Family, One future.

I particularly appeal to the youngsters, go to the root of it. Why do we have a Constitution Day? Why do we have Samvidhan Hatya Divas? Because you may have forgotten.

Your grandparents will tell you what happened and therefore, beware of the people, a small category in the country and outside, who are engaged in a pernicious design to taint, tarnish, demean our institutions.

हमारी कौन सी संस्था है जहां motto संस्कृत में नहीं है? हमारे सैन्य ठिकानों मे चले जाइए, हमारे विश्वविद्यालयों में चले जाइए, हमारी संसद मे चले जाइए। motto मिलेगा संस्कृत में, कम शब्दों के अंदर कितनी बड़ी व्याख्या है। हमारी संस्कृति का कोई मुकाबला नहीं है, इसका सर्जन करना हमारा धर्म है।

हम भारतीय हैं, भारतीयता हमारी पहचान है। राष्ट्र धर्म हमारे लिए सर्वोपरि है और किसी भी परिस्थिति में हम राष्ट्र धर्म को दूसरा दर्ज नहीं दे सकते और जो ऐसा करना चाहते हैं, जो निजी स्वार्थ को ऊपर रखना चाहते हैं उनका मेल हमारी संस्कृति से नहीं खाता है। वो भारत माता की ताकत नहीं समझ रहे।

This masterpiece, I am told, is not merely a dictionary. It is a marvelous connection between the ancient and the modern, the East and the West.

With the publication of this dictionary, we are honoring Sanskrit's unmatched contribution to global culture as well as renewing its relevance in the contemporary era. Look around the globe in many countries, you will find the relevance of Sanskrit being reflected.

When our Prime Minister goes to some countries, we in this country are pleasantly surprised that Sanskrit hymns are being spoken. Look around young boys and girls, our Vedas, Purans, Upanishads, they are treasures of knowledge and wisdom.

Hardly there is a facet of modern science and innovation that is not found there. I appeal to all of you to at least have by your bedside or in your house Vedas in physical form. Once you will develop the habit of reading them, trust me, you will get different kinds of enlightenment, your inner self will serve you large.

Language is not just a means of communication. It reflects cultural values, traditions and social norms. Sanskrit holds a deep connection to the cultural and historical identity of India. As a matter of fact, the identity of India is reflected in Sanskrit.

Our most cherished texts, The Vedas, the Upanishads and the epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana were written in this language. It is the language of great sages and seers whose philosophical discourses continue to enlighten the world..

Sanskrit is widely recognised as the Mother of many modern Indian languages. The vocabulary and linguistic structures of Hindi, Marathi and Bengali and other languages have borrowed heavily from Sanskrit, which is just a foundational pillar.

India is a land of rich languages, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, just look at their depth and when you see Sanskrit then this mechanism will tell the world हमारे भारत जैसा और कोई देश नहीं है।

Sanskrit is a unique and soothing language, you may not understand Sanskrit, but if you listen to certain verses in Sanskrit, your faculties are in top gear, your mind gets peace, your soul is in connect with your heart and mind.

संस्कृत जब बोली जाती है, मंत्र चांट किए जाते हैं, एक नई अनुभूति होती है। और वह तो तब होती है जब उसका पूरा अर्थ हम समझते भी नहीं हैं। अंदाजा लगाइए कि यदि पूरा अर्थ समझ जाएंगे, तो क्या होगा? Inner peace and positivity and sublimity will be fully alerted in our body. Incorporating Sanskrit chants and verses into daily life can be a transformative practice leading to a more balanced, harmonious and enlightened existence.

Friends, the principles contained in Sanskrit literature, harmony, respect for nature and pursuit of knowledge, are more relevant than ever in the contemporary global scenario.

The release of this dictionary comes at a time when the world is increasingly recognizing the importance of preserving and promoting indigenous languages and knowledge systems.

हम भी कहते हैं मातृ भाषा में पढ़िए, अंग्रेज़ी बोलने वाले कि काबिलियत और उसकी हैसियत अंग्रेज़ी बोलने तक ही सीमित कीजिए।

That cannot be reflective of knowledge and wisdom of the person being very fluent in English. पहले थे कि अंग्रेज़ी बोलत है तो होशियार ही होगा पर संस्कृत के बारे में ऐसा नहीं है। यदि संस्कृत कोई अच्छी बोलता है तो वह विद्वान है।

सोशल मीडिया का काफी दुरूपयोग इस बात को लेकर हो रहा है और सोशल मीडिया का ज्यादा दुरूपयोग इसलिए हो रहा है की जो ज्यादा सेंसिटिव लोग हैं वह सोचते हैं चलो यह करने दो, नहीं रोको उन्हें अपनी बात समझओ तभी आगे काम चलेगा यह बहुत महत्वपूर्ण है

Sanskrit is just not a language, it is much beyond that, Sanskrit is a way of life, Sanskrit is a philosophy. Sanskrit is defining humanity, Sanskrit connects everyone, Sanskrit generates peace and tranquility.