10 acres alloted for establishment of Sanskrit College in Mata Mansa Devi complex

Chandigarh: The Mata Mansa Devi Shrine Board (MMDSB) has finally accepted to establish a Post Graduate Sanskrit College after four repeated reminders from the Higher Education department. The college will be set up in the vicinity of the temple under a reserved area of 10 acres.

As proposed, the institution which is to be named after Mata Mansa Devi Mandir will provide undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Sanskrit for students. It will be built in the Mansa Devi complex near Shri Laxmi Bhawan Dharamshala. Yoga classes are also suggested to be conducted.

V G Goel, the CEO of MMDSB, believes the institution would prove to be of great significance for Indian culture, heritage and dissemination of Sanskrit. He said: "It will be an institution of higher learning for those who want to learn Sanskrit, and will prepare pandits and pujaris of not only national but international importance. Sanskrit is a language of immense significance globally."

The Shrine Board would bear the cost of construction and annual expenditure, as per the proposal. However, the recurring expenditure on payment of faculties will be borne by the government. A total of 105 acres in the Mansa Devi Complex is owned by the Board. It further receives a cash donation of about Rs 15 crore per annum.

The institution will follow the guidelines issued by the Education Department, Haryana, and University Grants Commission (UGC).

In the meantime, the Board has also proposed that classes could be started from Shri Laxmi Bhawan Dharamshala, which has 45 rooms and six halls. The proposal is yet to be approved by the department.

The proposal to set up the university was suggested by the BJP led government in October 2014 after it came into power in Haryana.

The Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma made the announcement initially when he visited the shrine early in 2015; however, the principle approval was given by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in his meeting with the shrine board in November 2015.

Khattar announced about the Sanskrit university's setup with the intention to spread the use of the language by providing proper teaching and training to students.

The Department of Higher Education, Haryana, will now analyze the proposal on different scales of finances, curriculum, strength of students, following which it will be suggested for final approval by the government. (Inputs from indianexpress.com)