Dear Colleagues, It is indeed very encouraging to know that Dr. Rasheed has taken up the teaching of Sanskrit and that he has some enthusiastic students. After all, Sanskrit is as much a part of Pakistan’s heritage as it is of India’s and much of SE Asia and beyond despite the narrow sectarian positions that have followed partition.
In the late 1990’s I had some discussions with the late Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan who was then the Director of the IGNCA and she expressed a hope that some arrangement could be made with PU to digitize the Sanskrit collection in collaboration with her institution but of course nothing came of it. There was also some vague talk of a western institution purchasing the collection. But again nothing happened. At that time I had an opportunity to visit the collection in an effort to find out what was there. The Library staff were grudging at best and expressed no interest in what they called somewhat dismissively the Sansikrit materials. They did let me go through the collection's extensive card catalog but would not allow me into the manuscript room or rooms. If I asked for specific manuscript, they would send one of their staff to fetch them for me one at a time. I asked for works in a variety of genres and looked through them. They seemed, as far as I could tell, fairly well preserved. When I asked the supervisor how many manuscripts were in the collection, he shrugged and said. “Kaafi.” All rather disappointing. One hopes that now that the teaching of the language is going on at LUMS there may be further developments concerning this important collection . Happy holidays to you all. Bob Dr. R.P. Goldman William and Catherine Magistretti Professor of Sanskrit Emeritus and Professor in the Graduate School Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies The University of California at Berkeley > On Dec 13, 2025, at 9:12 AM, Mark Allon via INDOLOGY > <[email protected]> wrote: > > Dear all, > > Dr Shahid Rasheed’s teaching of Sanskrit at the Lahore University of > Management Sciences (LUMS) is clearly a wonderful step forward in > invigorating the formal teaching of Sanskrit in Pakistan, but the opening > statement of this article “The teaching of Sanskrit has quietly returned to > classrooms in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan for the first time since > Partition” is inaccurate. > > I do not have a full account of the teaching of Sanskrit and related > languages in Pakistan since partition, but Sanskrit has certainly been taught > at Punjab University by Prof. Abdur Rahman and most recently by Prof. > Muhammad Hameed. See, for example, the BS Archaeology syllabus for 2021 > <chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https:/pu.edu.pk/downloads/Various-disciplines-ADC-BS-BSc-MBA-MPhil-PhD/BS%20Archaeology.pdf> > and 2023 > <chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https:/pu.edu.pk/downloads/Various-disciplines-ADC-BS-BSc-MBA-MPhil-PhD/BS%20Archaeology%20(5th%20to%208th)%202years.pdf> > which includes “Preliminary Sanskrit” with an outline of the syllabus given > (2021, p. 82; 2023, pp. 30-31), besides “Indian Palaeography and Epigraphy.” > > Further, Dr. Mueezuddin Hakal has been teaching Sanskrit for archaeology > students at the Taxila Institute of Asian Civilizations (TIAC), Quaid-i-Azam > University (QAU), Islamabad, for some time. > > It is possible that Ahmad Hasan Dani, who studied Sanskrit in India prior to > partition, before moving to Pakistan, taught Sanskrit. > > Though not a formal course, in order to invigorate Pakistani student’s > exposure to Sanskrit and Gandhari, Jason Neelis (Wilfrid Laurier University, > Canada) and I conducted a three-day workshop on “Early Buddhist Manuscripts > and Inscriptions” at TIAC, Quaid-i Azam University, in December last year. > The students, who were mostly from their MA Archaeology program, were very > keen in learning these languages. > > Regards > Mark > > Associate Professor Mark Allon FAHA > Asian Studies > University of Sydney NSW 2006 > Australia > Staff webpage: > https://www.sydney.edu.au/arts/about/our-people/academic-staff/mark-allon.html > Gandharan Buddhist Texts: https://gandhari-texts.sydney.edu.au/ > Publications: https://sydney.academia.edu/MarkAllon > <https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/JV5aCr81nyt2NG0Qqh7fkh4u6Hh?domain=sydney.academia.edu> > > > > > > From: INDOLOGY <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Antonia > Ruppel via INDOLOGY > Sent: Saturday, 13 December 2025 4:25 PM > To: Shrinivas Tilak <[email protected]> > Cc: Indology <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [INDOLOGY] Sanskrit in Pakistan > > The Tribune article shows up for me without any issues, but perhaps that's > because I am in the EU? At any rate, I've pasted the text below: > > > The teaching of Sanskrit has quietly returned to classrooms in the Islamic > Republic of Pakistan for the first time since Partition, with the Lahore > University of Management Sciences (LUMS) introducing a course in the > classical language. What began as a three-month weekend workshop gradually > evolved into a full four-credit university course after the overwhelming > response it received. > > Dr Ali Usman Qasmi, Director of the Gurmani Centre, told The Tribune that > Pakistan houses one of the richest but least-studied Sanskrit archives at the > Punjab University library. “A significant collection of Sanskrit palm-leaf > manuscripts were catalogued in the 1930s by scholar JCR Woolner, but no > Pakistani academic has engaged with this collection since 1947. Only foreign > researchers use it. Training scholars locally will change that,” he says. > > The LUMS also plans to offer courses on the Mahabharata and the Bhagavad > Gita. “Hopefully, this sets a momentum,” says Dr Qasmi. “In 10-15 years, we > could see Pakistan-based scholars of the Gita and the Mahabharata.” > > Dr Qasmi said initially, a weekend programme was offered that was open to > everyone--students, researchers, lawyers and academics. “After we saw the > response, we decided to introduce it as a proper university course. Even > though the number of students is still small, we hope it will grow over the > next few years. Ideally, by spring 2027, we should be able to teach the > language as a year-long course.” > > At the heart of the initiative is Dr Shahid Rasheed, Associate Professor of > sociology at Forman Christian College, whose interest in Sanskrit began long > before the LUMS approached him. “Classical languages contain much wisdom for > mankind. I started with learning Arabic and Persian, and then studied > Sanskrit,” he told The Tribune. With no local teachers or textbooks, he > turned to online platforms, studying under Cambridge Sanskrit scholar Antonia > Ruppel and Australian Indologist McComas Taylor. “It took almost a year to > cover classical Sanskrit grammar. And I’m still studying it.” > > After Dr Qasmi reached out, Dr Rasheed took a sabbatical from FC College to > teach the course at the LUMS. “I mainly teach grammar. When I was teaching > ‘subhashitas’, the wisdom verses or shlokas, many of my students were > fascinated to discover that so many Urdu words come from Sanskrit. Many > didn’t even know that Sanskrit was different from Hindi. In the first week, > they found it a challenging language. But once they grasped the logical > structure, they started enjoying it. The pleasure of solving something > difficult is immense,” he says. > > “Modern languages derive from classical traditions. There is just a veil that > separates them--once you cross it, you realise they are all our own,” adds Dr > Rasheed. > > Dr Qasmi explains that the initiative also aligns with the university’s > broader language ecosystem, which includes Sindhi, Pashto, Punjabi, Baluchi, > Arabic and Persian. “We understand the importance of connecting with this > incredible tradition, which is part of the Pakistani-Indian global heritage. > So much of our literature, poetry, art and philosophy go back to the Vedic > age. Many historians believe that the Vedas were written in this region. It > then becomes even more important to read the classical texts in their > original language.” > > Despite the political sensitivities involved, both scholars believe the > intellectual climate is shifting. Dr Rasheed often encounters curiosity about > his own study of the language. “People ask me why I’m learning Sanskrit. I > tell them, why should we not learn it? It is the binding language of the > entire region. Sanskrit grammarian Panini’s village was in this region. Much > writing was done here during the Indus Valley Civilisation. Sanskrit is like > a mountain--a cultural monument. We need to own it. It is ours too; it’s not > tied to any one particular religion.” > > “If we want people to come closer, then it’s essential to understand and > absorb our rich classical traditions. Imagine if more Hindus and Sikhs in > India started learning Arabic, and more Muslims in Pakistan took up Sanskrit, > it could be a fresh, hopeful start for South Asia, where languages become > bridges instead of barriers,” concludes Dr Rasheed. > > > On Sat, 13 Dec 2025 at 14:55, Shrinivas Tilak <[email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: > Members of the Indology group often provide links to very interesting topics > pertaining to Sanskrit etc to a newspaper in India. Unfortunately, there is a > torrent of ads that you need to negotiate before you finally are able to > reach to the story. I am often tempted to give up and not proceed. Is there > some way to archive the story in an ads-free location? > > On Saturday, December 13, 2025 at 12:20:39 a.m. EST, Ananya Vajpeyi via > INDOLOGY <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> > wrote: > > > Congratulations are in order then, Antonia! > Warm best, > AV. > > On Sat, Dec 13, 2025 at 2:02 AM Antonia Ruppel via INDOLOGY > <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: > Dear Madhav, > > Thank you for sharing this! Here's the original piece in the Tribune that The > Wire is referring to: > > https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/india/sanskrit-returns-to-pak-varsity-first-time-since-partition/ > > <https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/ttnSCQnMBZflREvVgTxfYFGI_vb?domain=tribuneindia.com/> > > Shahid Rasheed, who is behind this initiative, is a true polymath and > co-founder of a school trust > (https://i-care-foundation.org/charity/zaawiya-trust-school/ > <https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/cCieCROND2u0Ok4YoCNhlF1bUI-?domain=i-care-foundation.org/>). > I think he began learning Sanskrit with McComas and has been doing Latin and > Greek (and some more Sanskrit) with me at Yogic Studies for a while now. > > Antonia > > On Thu, 11 Dec 2025 at 17:05, Madhav Deshpande via INDOLOGY > <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: > A Welcome Development: > https://thewire.in/south-asia/in-a-first-since-independence-a-pakistan-university-is-teaching-sanskrit > > <https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/7_jUCVARKgCkZLqBmHyiLFENqlq?domain=thewire.in> > > Madhav M. Deshpande > Professor Emeritus, Sanskrit and Linguistics > University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA > Senior Fellow, Oxford Center for Hindu Studies > Adjunct Professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, India > > [Residence: Campbell, California, USA] > > _______________________________________________ > INDOLOGY mailing list > [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology > <https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/2ZzeCWLVXkUX4gr3ZSnsgFoT1rE?domain=list.indology.info> > > _______________________________________________ > INDOLOGY mailing list > [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology > <https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/2ZzeCWLVXkUX4gr3ZSnsgFoT1rE?domain=list.indology.info> > > > > -- > Ananya Vajpeyi > https://www.csds.in/ananya_vajpeyi > <https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/ppk3CXLW2mUD9yEAjImt3FW_8MX?domain=csds.in> > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > INDOLOGY mailing list > [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology > <https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/2ZzeCWLVXkUX4gr3ZSnsgFoT1rE?domain=list.indology.info> > _______________________________________________ > INDOLOGY mailing list > [email protected] > https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology Dr. R.P. Goldman William and Catherine Magistretti Professor of Sanskrit Emeritus and Professor in the Graduate School Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies The University of California at Berkeley
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