In the making: A book on Hindi roots

The NDA government has set the ball rolling for a compendium on the etymology of Hindi words to provide a base for the study of Indian knowledge traditions.

The NDA government has set the ball rolling for a compendium on the etymology of Hindi words to provide a base for the study of Indian knowledge traditions.

The Union human resource development ministry has taken the Akhil Bharatiya Sahitya Parishad, an organisation allied to the RSS, on board for production of etymological compilation, sources said.

The glossary will provide the etymological origin of Hindi words.

“We will produce an etymology of one lakh Hindi words and trace their roots to Sanskrit, Prakrit, Pali and Apabhramsha (languages spoken in ancient India),” Sahitya Parishad national president Tribhuvannath Shukla said.

It is expected to help scholars of Indic studies and can be kept in universities and public libraries.

The move holds promise for those who feel the Indian education system has been “Eurocentric”, not “Indocentric”.

Shukla said etymological compilation would help research on Indian science, an area of interest for the Sangh Parivar. Many in Sangh circles believe ancient scientific achievements that can be accessed through Sanskrit texts have been ignored by scholars till now.

Besides, the government is also looking at promoting Hindi.

“The book will have sections on the relevance of Hindi, education in Hindi, flexibility of the language and assessment of Hindi’s present status in the world and where it should be,” NBT chairman Baldev Sharma said.