Pakistan Revives Sanskrit After Partition, Plans Gita and Mahabharata Studies

For the first time since the Partition of 1947, Sanskrit is making a return to a formal classroom in Pakistan. The Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) has introduced a four-credit course in the classical language, marking a rare institutional effort to revive Sanskrit studies in the country.

The initiative has been driven largely by Dr Shahid Rasheed, Associate Professor of Sociology at Forman Christian College, who has spent years studying Sanskrit alongside other classical languages.

“Classical languages contain immense wisdom for mankind. I began with Arabic and Persian before taking up Sanskrit,” Dr Rasheed told The Tribune, adding that much of his learning came through online platforms.

He said it took nearly a year to complete classical Sanskrit grammar and that he continues to deepen his studies.

The course evolved from a three-month weekend workshop and attracted strong interest from students and scholars, highlighting a latent appetite for classical language studies in Pakistan.

Dr Ali Usman Qasmi, Director of the Gurmani Centre at LUMS, said Pakistan holds one of the region’s richest yet least-explored collections of Sanskrit texts. He pointed to the Punjab University library’s archive of Sanskrit palm-leaf manuscripts, many of which were catalogued in the 1930s by scholar J.C.R. Woolner.

“No Pakistani academic has engaged with this collection since 1947. Only foreign researchers use it. Training scholars locally will change that,” Qasmi told The Tribune.

‘It is ours too’

Dr Rasheed said he is often questioned about his interest in Sanskrit, a language commonly associated with Hindu religious texts.

“I ask, why should we not learn it? It is the binding language of this entire region. Panini’s village was here. Much was written here during the Indus Valley civilisation,” he said.

“Sanskrit is like a mountain — a cultural monument. We need to own it. It is ours too; it is not tied to any one religion.”

Rasheed believes that wider cross-border engagement with classical languages could reshape regional relations.

“Imagine if more Hindus and Sikhs in India learned Arabic, and more Muslims in Pakistan studied Sanskrit. Languages could become bridges instead of barriers,” he said.

Language as a bridge

A separate report by ThePrint adds a personal dimension to Rasheed’s journey. The 52-year-old academic views language as a bridge rooted in shared history. His first student was his daughter, who is now fluent in the Devanagari script.

Tracing his family roots to Karnal and Sheikhpura in present-day Uttar Pradesh, Rasheed sees these connections as reminders of a shared civilisational landscape divided by borders.

“Devanagari attracted me. It is artistic and profound,” he recalled, according to ThePrint.

Plans for Gita and Mahabharata studies

The initiative is expected to expand beyond a single course. Dr Qasmi said LUMS plans to introduce structured studies of the Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita.

“In 10 to 15 years, we could see Pakistan-based scholars of the Gita and the Mahabharata,” he said.

As part of the Sanskrit programme, students are also being introduced to cultural material linked to Sanskrit literature, including the Urdu rendition of “Hai katha sangram ki”, the iconic theme song from the Mahabharat television series.