The combination of German expertise and the Indian youth potential would benefit both the countries and the world, said Michael Steiner, German Ambassador to India in his farewell message to India as he completes his three-year tenure as Ambassador on June 30.
Talking to newspersons at Sripuram here where he visited the Sri Lakshmi Narayani Temple as part of his farewell tour of India on Saturday, Mr. Steiner said that what impressed him most during his three-year stint in India was not the country’s variety but the people, especially the youth who are eager to learn. The people are the real power of India. If you mobilise them and give them the chance to develop in accordance with their traditions, India will have a great future. India can reap the benefits of its demographic dividend and attain the rightful place in the comity of nations only when the youth are facilitated to unleash their potential. The political system should enable this. “There is a deep-rooted sense of caring among the Indian people. My wife and I will go back to Germany different from what we were when we came here three years ago,” he said.
The Ambassador said while 80,000 children studying in the Kendriya Vidyalayas in India learnt Germany, there is a new tendency among young Germans to learn Sanskrit. “There is a striking similarity between the German language and Sanskrit, both grammatical similarities and similarities in the roots of the words. Interest in Sanskrit among the Germans started in the 17th century. Today, German universities provide the best teaching, learning and research expertise in Sanskrit in the entire world. The University of Heidelberg is one of best universities in the world in teaching of Sanskrit,” he said.
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