In the middle of the ongoing row over replacing German with Sanskrit as a third language in Kendriya Vidyalayas, German Ambassador Michael Steiner on Wednesday reached out to members of the Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, a government agency dedicated to the promotion of Sanskrit learning.
Among those present at the meeting was RSS ideologue Dina Nath Batra, who has been in the eye of a storm over his recommendations for revamping the curriculum in NCERT books.
Leading a delegation, Mr. Steiner sought more cooperation for promotion of Sanskrit and German languages that had a lot in common.
“I visited the Sanskrit Sansthan to express solidarity with Sanskrit language with which we have common roots,” he told The Hindu .
Sanskrit Sansthan officials explained to the German side that the agreement signed between India and Germany in 2011 for teaching German as a third language in KVs was due for renewal, but the government had not agreed to it.
The German side agreed that things should happen as per Indian laws and sought more cultural exchanges between German and Sanskrit scholars for closer ties between the two sides to which the Sansthan members agreed.
Mr. Steiner proposed a conference for promotion of German and Sanskrit cultural ties.
