For the first time since Partition, Sanskrit verses echoed inside a Pakistani classroom. Students at Lahore’s LUMS listened to shlokas from the Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita. A moment that looked historic on the surface, but raised far deeper questions about Pakistan’s motive.
A nation that denies its own civilizational past, rejects the Vedic roots of the region, and identifies only with conquerors or invaders, suddenly wants to reclaim Sanskrit. The timing, the politics, and the global optics behind this revival demand scrutiny.
The Strange Scripts Behind Pakistan’s Sanskrit Rush
At the centre of Pakistan’s Sanskrit revival is LUMS’ new course, led by sociologist Dr. Shahid Rasheed. He claims Sanskrit is a “cultural monument” of the region. However, scholars note something more intriguing: the course heavily utilizes digitized manuscripts of the Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita, Subhashitas, and early Paninian grammar, all sourced from Pakistan’s own libraries.
For 8 decades, the Punjab University palm-leaf archive, catalogued before 1947 by British Indologist J.C.R. Woolner, was left to gather dust in Pakistan!
Why? Because Pakistani academia refused to engage with anything non-Urdu/Arabic/Farsi! Now, suddenly, these very texts are being revived and repackaged under the banner of “regional heritage studies.” Pakistan’s cultural theorists argue that Panini belonged to their land, Gandhara was theirs, and therefore, Sanskrit must also be theirs.
This switch – from rejection to ownership – should alarm India’s academic circles about the selective reinterpretation of ancient texts to suit Pakistan’s preferred narrative.
What Happens When a Nation That Denies Its History Starts Teaching Sanskrit?
Pakistan has built its national identity on the erasure of everything pre-Islamic. From school textbooks that skip the Sindhu-Saraswati civilization’s Vedic links to public intellectuals who dismiss Hindu antiquity as “Indian propaganda.” Pakistan, as a state, has spent 75 years institutionalizing historical amnesia.
Now, with Sanskrit returning to Pakistani campuses, there is fear of a new kind of distortion, not through rejection but through appropriation.
If Pakistani scholars start creatively interpreting the Mahabharata or the Gita through ideological filters, it will create a misinterpretation of texts on a global scale. The danger lies not in Pakistan teaching Sanskrit – but in Pakistan claiming ownership of the Sanskrit tradition and interpretations. This move could easily evolve into a campaign suggesting that India’s civilizational narrative is exaggerated, while Pakistan’s geographical landmass is the “true cradle” of Sanskrit culture.
For a nation that still debates whether Mohenjo-Daro society was Vedic or “proto-Islamic,” such manipulation using Sanskrit is not far-fetched.
Will Pakistan’s ‘New Sanskrit Experts’ Dilute, Pollute, or Rewrite the Civilizational Record?
LUMS now declares that Pakistan may soon produce “scholars of the Gita and Mahabharata within 10–15 years.” Hence, the question arises: what kind of scholarship? Pakistan’s academic ecosystem is heavily influenced by military-controlled socio-political state ideology. Pakistani archaeologists allow ancient Hindu temples and Buddhist monasteries to die in ruins.
The academia is propaganda-driven, and it routinely avoids acknowledging the Sanatani roots of the 90% converted Islamic demography. They still teach their children that the decimal system, India’s gift to the world, was an Arab invention. Moreover, they claim that they gave the world Unani medicine without acknowledging how this naturopathy is linked to the ancient art of Ayurveda!
In such an environment, Sanskrit study risks becoming a tool – not of knowledge, but of narrative warfare.
There is concern that Pakistan may attempt to reinterpret the Sindhu-Saraswati findings to weaken Indian claims of civilizational antiquity. This becomes especially critical as India accelerates research at sites like Rakhigarhi, creating evidence of a 9,000-year-old cultural continuum. If Pakistan produces its own “Sanskrit scholarship,” it may present counter-interpretations to international institutions. This creates a space for global misunderstanding of ancient South Asian history.
Dilution and Pollution of truths in Sanskrit texts are a primary concern in the hands of Pakistani scholars!
Sanskrit is unforgiving – its grammar is mathematical, its constructions precise. Scholars warn that undertrained academics may create flawed, hybrid interpretations that later slip into international journals. The world still remembers how Pakistan once tried to argue that the Rig Veda originated outside India. Now, with Sanskrit training, such claims may return with academic polish.
Knowledge or Global Funds – Why does Pakistan want to study Bharat’s Sanskrit?
Pakistan’s U-turn on Sanskrit may have an economic angle. Global universities and cultural bodies pour millions into ancient language preservation, manuscript digitisation, and civilizational studies. Debt-ridden Pakistan is struggling under an economic collapse and credibility issues. Hence, by showcasing its position on Sanskrit, it may try to tap into this academic funding by branding itself as the “Guardian of Panini’s land” and “Custodian of forgotten Sanskrit manuscripts.”
At the same time, this sudden interest appears suspiciously aligned with Pakistan’s desire to insert itself into the Sindhu-Saraswati debate.
Pakistan may want to claim that the Sidhu River civilization was culturally more connected to Gandhara’s “proto-Sanskritic” past. Thereby, attempting to delegitimise India’s archaeological breakthroughs and demand a share of global attention, funding, and narrative control.
For decades, Pakistan denied its ancient civilizational roots, history, and identity – Now, sensing opportunity, it wants to “own” Sanskrit.
Whether this leads to a scholarship or yet another propaganda project remains to be seen. What is certain, however, is that India must stay vigilant. Civilizational narratives are not merely academic – they shape global perceptions, policy, identity, and power. When the Arab world is appreciating the richness of Bharat’s culture, let Pakistan not try to control how ancient India was perceived through control of Sanskrit!
