Sanskrit is the world’s only scientific language, says HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal

The future of working computers depends on Sanskrit because it is the only scientific language in the world. Even NASA agrees with this and has officially accepted this, said the HRD minister.

Union Human Resource Development (HRD) minister Ramesh Pokhriyal drew flak from students at the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B), following his speech as the chief guest at the institute’s 57th convocation ceremony on Saturday. Addressing the students, Pokhriyal said that Sanskrit is the world’s only scientific language and this had been “officially accepted” by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). He went on to say that medical treatment is incomplete without Ayurveda and the world’s first plastic surgeon had come from India.

Naresh Pokhriyal(HRD minister) claims Sanskrit to be world’s only scientific language. (Pratik Chorge/HT Photo)

“[The] future of working computers depends on Sanskrit because it is the only scientific language in the world. Even NASA agrees with this and has officially accepted this,” he said. “There was a time when the world did not take Ayurveda seriously, but today major hospitals launched around the world start their work with the Ayurveda wings first. Even they agree that treatment is incomplete without Ayurveda.” He also praised Indian scholars such as Aryabhata and Bhaskaracharya for their contribution to the field of mathematics.

Moreover, while remembering former Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar as an alumnus of the institute, he also wrongly named Google CEO Sundar Pichai (IIT-Kharagpur), Infosys co-founder Narayan Murthy (IIT-Kanpur) and Arjun Malhotra (IIT-Kharagpur) as alumni of IIT-B.

Towards the end of his speech, he congratulated the institute for making it to the list of top 200 institutes in the world with their research and commitment towards education. “For years we have been using products made in Japan and China but with our Prime Minister’s ideas, we will make sure that soon, everyone in the world will only use products made in India. That path goes through the students of IITs,” Pokhriyal concluded.

Students who attended the address took to Twitter to express their amusement. “The HRD minister giving convocation speech by taking names off Wikipedia IIT alumni list (sic),” tweeted one of the students. Another tweet poked fun at Pokhriyal’s statement on Ayurveda: “Ayurveda is saving the world...No mention of NASA here thankfully.”

Watch | NASA says walking-talking computer possible only with Sanskrit: HRD Minister

REVENUE REPORT

According to the IIT-B director’s report, presented at the 57th convocation ceremony on Saturday, the institute generated ₹332.82 crore in revenue for research and development (R&D) projects commissioned by various government and private organisations this academic year.

In the previous two years, the revenue receipts for these projects amounted to ₹312 crore and ₹390 crore, respectively. Last year, the institute received a lot of flak for allocating a much smaller portion of its own funds for R&D projects. The internal grants for research fell to ₹15 crore 2017-18 from ₹47.6 crore in 2016-17 – a dip of 75%. This year, it sanctioned around ₹22 crores for the same purpose.