- By Supratik Das
- Sat, 13 Dec 2025 11:26 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
The Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) has launched a four-credit Sanskrit course following an overwhelming response to a three-month weekend workshop. Academics involved in the initiative say the move reflects a growing willingness in Pakistan to reconnect with the region’s shared classical heritage.
Reviving Forgotten Classical Legacy
Dr Ali Usman Qasmi, Director of the Gurmani Centre at LUMS, said Pakistan holds one of South Asia’s most neglected Sanskrit archives at the Punjab University library. The collection includes rare palm-leaf manuscripts catalogued in the 1930s by scholar JCR Woolner but largely untouched since Independence.
“Only foreign researchers have accessed these texts for decades. Training local scholars will finally allow Pakistan to study its own classical inheritance,” Dr Qasmi told The Tribune. He added that Sanskrit studies would help scholars better understand ancient literature, philosophy, art and history rooted in the subcontinent.
Gita And Mahabharata Courses Planned
The university plans to gradually expand the curriculum to include dedicated courses on the Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita. “In 10 to 15 years, we could see Pakistan-based scholars of the Gita and the Mahabharata,” Dr Qasmi said, expressing hope that the initiative would gain momentum and evolve into a full-year programme by 2027.
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As part of the course, students are also introduced to cultural interpretations of classical texts, including Urdu renditions inspired by the Mahabharata.
Dr Shahid Rasheed, Associate Professor of Sociology at Forman Christian College and one of the key figures behind the initiative, said Sanskrit should not be viewed through a religious lens. “It is the binding language of this region. Panini belonged to this land. Sanskrit is a cultural monument, and we need to own it. It is ours too,” he said. While initially challenging, he noted that students began to enjoy the language once they grasped its logical structure.
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The reintroduction of Sanskrit, scholars say, marks a rare moment of cultural introspection in Pakistan’s academic landscape and signals a renewed interest in shared civilisational roots.