The Class VII Social Science textbooks of this year, published by the National Council of Educational Research and Training, now include Sanskrit terminology. Part I of the textbook, Exploring Society India and Beyond, teaches students how to read Romanised Sanskrit words and literature written with diacritical markings.
“However, as we are using only a few simple signs, you will find it easy to get used to them. You will also find that they help you pronounce Sanskrit words fairly correctly,” said the book in a section titled “Your Journey Through This Textbook”, The Telegraph reports.
Educators contend that the concepts and terminology employed in the textbook would increase the pressure on students.
For example, Anita Rampal, former dean of education at Delhi University (DU) and former head of the NCERT's primary textbook development committees, justified this by referring to the concept of "empire" as discussed in the chapter "The Rise of Empire."
According to the chapter, the word “empire” comes from the Latin ‘Imperium’, which means ‘Supreme Power’, The Telegraph reports.
“In ancient Sanskrit texts, words commonly used for ‘emperor’ made this clear; they included samraj, meaning ‘the lord of all’ or ‘supreme ruler’; ‘adhiraja’ or ‘overlord’; and rajadhiraja or ‘king of kings’,” it states.
“The paragraph is loaded with information and many new, unfamiliar words, both in English and Sanskrit. The claim that Sanskrit words like 'samraj' and 'adhiraja' are easier to comprehend for children and that they can understand the related concepts is completely misplaced,” she told The Telegraph.
