Ancient Sanskrit College embraces digital tech

The digital campus was unveiled by Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister, Commerce & Industry in the College campus in Mylapore on Tuesday. Plans are on the anvil to digitise an astronomical 50,000 palm leaf manuscripts. 

The College has adopted a Cloud Campus model, where the faculty consists of a renowned group of Sanskrit scholars and the certificate course is offered by The Madras Sanskrit College. Students can follow it up with an exam for a certificate from the Madras University. 

Talking at the event, Ramesh Mahalingam, Trustee, The Madras Sanskrit College said, “We have the beginners course with 30 lessons spanning a 16 week period. Live books to engage with scholars around the world, live webcasts and learning circles.” 

Sanskrit is simple yet versatile and has therefore been accepted globally in the context of digital performance for a language, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. “Sanskrit can be simple and at the same time versatile. That is one of the reasons today in the digital era we have realised what versatility this language has, that it is best accepted globally for anything to do with digital performance for a language,” she said.   

No other language, European or others including Indian, “really can stand up to the challenges of language blending with the digital demand,” she said unveiling the digital campus of the 111-year old Madras Sanskrit College here. 

The Sanskrit College owes its origin to Justice V Krishnaswami Iyer, a renowned judge of the Madras High Court. It was started on January 1, 1906 and within a year it gained official recognition with the Director of Public Instruction granting it the status of aided institution.