New Delhi, Jul 16 (IANS): Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) backed organisation Samskrita Bharati has said that Sanskrit was the unifying language of India which must be promoted by the Narendra Modi-led government at all levels across the country.

Samskrita Bharti also honoured 47 newly elected members of Lok Sabha, including Union Ministers Harsh Vardhan, Pratap Sarangi, Ashwini Chaubey and Shripad Yesso Naik. All these MPs had taken the oath of secrecy in Sanskrit.

Samskrita Bharti's national General Secretary and prominent RSS leader Dinesh Kamat said that the Speaker of the Lok Sabha has been approached to hold training sessions for MPs in the Parliament to get acquainted with the ancient language.

Kamat, who's part of the RSS think-tank, further said, "Ambedkar had stated that Sanskrit should be made the national language of India. When doctor sahab (Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar) was asked that Sanskrit was a language identified with the Brahmins and that he should not endorse it, Ambedkar told his followers that Vyas, Valmilki and even Kalidas, the great poets of Sanskrit, were not Brahmins. Sanskrit elevates a human being, it unifies Bharat."

Samskrita Bharti at present has 585 centres spread across the country. Reminding the importance of India's ancient language, Kamat said that after the last Lok Sabha polls in 2014, 37 MPs had taken oath in Sanskrit and this time (2019) the number has gone up to 47.

"Not only the MPs are showing their interest in Sanskrit, the language is also being researched and taught in 40 countries and 254 universities across the world, including China. It is the mother of all Indian languages and even influences languages through out South East Asia. There are 45 lakh manuscripts in Sanskrit, but unfortunately only 25,000 have been published," Kamat added.

Besides MPs and Union Ministers, several senior leaders of the RSS graced the event held at the Constitution Club here.

One of the top Sangh leaders Indresh Kumar said that Sanskrit identified Indian culture. The language should be promoted in all institutions across states, he said.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, who took oath in Sanskrit in 2014 and 2019, was a special guest at the function, as according to the organisers, he was not only an admirer of Sanskrit shlokas (verses of wisdom), but also seemed determined to promote the language across platforms.

West Bengal BJP chief and MP Dilip Ghosh, who also took oath in Sanskrit, was the star of the event and was honoured by the RSS leadership.