‘It Is Ours Too’: After 78 years, Pakistan has reclaimed the Indian classical language and is planning courses on the Gita and Mahabharata

‘It Is Ours Too’: Following an extraordinary response to a three-month weekend workshop, the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) has introduced a four-credit Sanskrit course. According to scholars working on the project, the action shows Pakistan’s increasing desire to rediscover its common classical past.

Revival of the Lost Classical Tradition
The Punjab University library in Pakistan is home to one of South Asia’s most underappreciated Sanskrit archives, according to Dr. Ali Usman Qasmi, Director of the Gurmani Centre at LUMS. Rare palm-leaf manuscripts that have been mostly unaltered since independence but were cataloged by researcher JCR Woolner in the 1930s are part of the collection.

For decades, these manuscripts have only been available to academics from other countries. Pakistan will eventually be able to study its own classical heritage thanks to the training of indigenous academics, Dr. Qasmi told The Tribune. He went on to say that studying Sanskrit will aid academics in comprehending the subcontinent’s ancient literature, philosophy, art, and history.

Planned Gita and Mahabharata Courses
The institution intends to progressively add courses on the Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita to its curriculum. “We could see scholars of the Gita and the Mahabharata based in Pakistan in 10 to 15 years,” Dr. Qasmi said, adding that he hoped the idea would gain traction and develop into a full-year program by 2027.

Students are also exposed to cultural interpretations of ancient works as part of the study, such as Mahabharata-inspired Urdu translations.

One of the initiative’s main proponents, Dr. Shahid Rasheed, an associate professor of sociology at Forman Christian College, said that Sanskrit shouldn’t be seen through a religious prism. It is the region’s binding language. This property belonged to Panini. We must take ownership of Sanskrit, as it is a cultural monument. “It is also ours,” he said. He observed that while the language was first difficult, after pupils understood its logical structure, they started to appreciate it.

According to academics, the revival of Sanskrit indicates a revived interest in common civilizational foundations and represents a unique moment of cultural reflection in Pakistan’s academic scene.