[“That we are now at letter “A”
and have reached words starting with “ap” over the last few decades should not
come as a surprise. While we are grateful to the HRD Ministry for the funds
granted, we urgently need more talented manpower. What must be kept in mind is
that no project can match ours in terms of its historical and linguistic
wealth,” said Bhatta.]
By Anubhuti Vishnoi
While the Centre has ensured that
the project is flush with funds, those involved with the project blame the
delay on the shortage of manpower.
“There are 27 sanctioned posts
for the project. For 20 years now, we have been working with just three
staffers. We have been requesting the HRD Ministry to allow us to fill the
remaining positions, but the ministry feels we should appoint people on
contract,” said Prof Vinayak Bhatta, director of the college and chief editor
of the Sanskrit Dictionary project.
“However, for a project of this
magnitude and gravity, we require the best of Sanskrit scholars with knowledge
of all branches of Sanskrit and with a near decade-long experience in its
study. Why will a scholar of that stature join us on contract? At present, with
just three editors and another few staffers sanctioned by the Mahrashatra
government we have a strength of just 10 people. Of the three editors, one or
two are set to retire soon. At this rate how can there be much progress?” added
Bhatta, who has been associated with the project since 1978.
“That we are now at letter “A”
and have reached words starting with “ap” over the last few decades should not
come as a surprise. While we are grateful to the HRD Ministry for the funds
granted, we urgently need more talented manpower. What must be kept in mind is
that no project can match ours in terms of its historical and linguistic
wealth,” said Bhatta.
Admitting that the team is
looking at years of mounting work before it can give the world the most
comprehensive encyclopaedic language dictionary for the early Aryan language,
Bhatta added: “Give me 50-100 scholars and I will finish the project in no
time”.
Meanwhile, the HRD ministry is
pushing for complete digitisation of the project. Plodding at some 1,540
Sanskrit texts including the Vedas and Upanishads, the Centre has culled out a
staggering 1 crore references to various Sanskrit words. These references are
jotted down carefully on brittle paper ‘slips’. After a special grant of Rs 5
crore for Deccan College
Over the last few decades, eight
volumes of the dictionary — all dealing with words beginning with the first
alphabet — have been published. The HRD Ministry wants these to be digitised as
well.
