Sanskrit Professors Stage Dharna at Jantar Mantar

Delhi. Demanding their regularisation for a long time, ad hoc lecturers of the Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan gathered at Jantar Mantar on Thursday to stage a dharna (sit-in protest) and placed their demands before the government. Under the Ministry of Human Resource Development, the Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan—the country's largest Sanskrit university with more than 10 campuses nationwide—continues to keep hundreds of teachers on temporary posts even after years of dedicated service. Many among these lecturers have served for more than 10 years. Yet, to this day, they are forced to endure the humiliation of undergoing a recurring annual selection process.

In this pre-eminent university for Sanskrit education, ad hoc lecturers are appointed across all streams, from ancient disciplines such as jyotisha (traditional astrology and astronomy) and dharmashastra (texts on sacred law and duty) to modern subjects like English and computer science. While bearing the full workload, they receive a pittance compared to permanent lecturers. Moreover, the sword of uncertainty hangs over their employment every single year. These lecturers are neither granted equal leave entitlements nor do they receive commensurate remuneration and respect.

Even among the temporary lecturers across Sanskrit institutions, despite performing identical work, two arbitrary tiers—contractual and guest—have been established, marked by blatant wage discrimination. Not a single senior official of the Sansthan has been able to explain or justify this policy. Amid these glaring anomalies, the Sanskrit lecturers formed the "Samyukt Shikshak Sangh" to press their demands for regularisation and parity, escalating their grievances from the Vice-Chancellor and executive council up to the Ministry of Human Resource Development; yet, despite months of talks, no resolution was achieved. 

Under the banner of the Samyukt Shikshak Sangh, these lecturers then launched a campaign securing letters of support from Members of Parliament, MLAs, venerable Sanskrit scholars, and recipients of the President's Award across the country. They met HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister Smriti Irani, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, and others, but the desired outcome remained elusive. Seeing no redress from the government, these Sanskrit teachers were compelled to leave their families behind and take unpaid leave to stage a demonstration at Delhi's Jantar Mantar. Some arrived from Agartala, others from Sringeri in Kerala, and some arrived having left their young children behind. This clarion call from the ad hoc faculty of Sanskrit institutions resonated across media channels as well. 

Following this outcry from the ad hoc lecturers, the government was forced to sit up and take notice. In all haste, Rajya Sabha MP and RSS ideologue Dr. R.K. Sinha arrived at the protest venue, where he sang paeans to Sanskrit and levelled accusations that no work was being done for Sanskrit. Yet, he too remained conspicuously silent on what the Central Government had actually accomplished for Sanskrit over the preceding four and a half years. He assured the temporary lecturers of the Sansthan that he would soon raise the issue in the Rajya Sabha and press the government to concede their demands; whether these assurances hold water remains to be seen, as barely 3 months remain before the Model Code of Conduct for the general elections comes into force.

With the installation of the Modi government at the Centre, a ray of hope had dawned upon Sanskrit institutions. It was expected that with the rise of a party fighting elections on the plank of cultural nationalism, Sanskrit would finally be taken care of. Yet, if the employees of these Sanskrit institutions are to be believed, they have reaped only disillusionment. Other Sanskrit universities, such as the Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya in Varanasi, face a more or less identical plight. According to some Sanskrit scholars, they received an even harder blow when Prime Minister Narendra Modi described Tamil as an older language than Sanskrit—even though the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and scholarly research have consistently held Sanskrit to be the most ancient. To make matters worse, the Sanskrit Sansthan is reeling under a severe financial crunch. It remains to be seen whether this culturally nationalist Central Government will usher in achhe din (good days) for Sanskrit, or whether the Sanskrit fraternity will once again find itself abandoned in an isolated corner. 

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