Sanskrit to be an elective subject in schools

[The Skeptic]

On Mon, 10 Oct 1994, Michael J. Sweet wrote:

> In Message Sun,  9 Oct 1994 21:19:13 BST,
>   Aditya Mishra <z900672a at bcfreenet.seflin.lib.fl.us> writes:
> 
> > Relation of Sanskrit to the modern day languages is like Latin
> >to Italian. Sanskrit is essentially a dead language and the only country
> >that has revived a dead language is Israel to make it an official
> >language but Israel is a theocratic state with only one religion.
>     Needless to say, none of these statements is true.  Sanskrit has a
> continuous living tradition, and remains a spoken language among pandits and
As I pointed out in my note it is like Latin. I am not talking of living 
TRADITION , I am talking about living languages. It not a spoken 
languages even among Pandits in India. Hebrew was also a dead language 
which was superseded by Yiddish and other native language until the 
Israeli government decided to revive it. I did not mean any offense to 
those who speak Hebrew now. 

> others.  Hebrew also remained a living language of scholarship and religion,
> and was revived as an everyday language by *secular* Zionists--religious
You repeated my word: REVIVED 
> Jews opposed this profane use of the holy tongue.  Israel is a democratic
> state with equal rights for Islam, Christianity, and other non-Jewish
> religions; it is no more a "theocracy" than India.
How can other religionists have equal rights in Israel when any and only 
Jews who are citizens of any country can automatically become citizen of 
Israel but Muslims living in the same political  territory are denied 
rights of citizenship. Israel as much a theocracy as vatican, UK or 
Pakistan etc all of which have a state supported religion. India does not 
have any state supported religion as yet but if BJP came to power then it 
may change.