DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran, on 11 February 2025, opposed the simultaneous interpretation of Lok Sabha proceedings in Sanskrit, arguing that it was unnecessary and a waste of taxpayers’ money. He linked the move to RSS ideology and questioned the relevance of Sanskrit as a communicative language.
During Question Hour, Maran cited the 2011 Census, which recorded only 73,000 Sanskrit speakers, and emphasized that while he supported interpretation in official state languages, he objected to Sanskrit being included. He said, “Sir, you are giving translation, which is most welcome, for the languages, which are the state languages, official state languages, can you tell me which state official language is Sanskrit? Why are we wasting taxpayers’ money with this language, which is not even communicable, nobody communicates with it in any of the states in India, nobody speaks with it. The population survey in 2011 said only 73000 people are supposed to be speaking. Sir, when there is data, why should the taxpayers’ money be wasted because of your RSS ideologies?”
While he received belt treatment from the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla who schooled him that he was living in Bharat where Sanskrit is one of the official languages and is recognised by the House. Om Birla asserted that Sanskrit has been India’s primary language. Birla clarified that interpretation services were being provided in multiple languages, not just Sanskrit, and later announced the inclusion of six more languages—Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, Manipuri, Sanskrit, and Urdu—for simultaneous interpretation in Parliament.
DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran: Why are you wasting taxpayers' money on translating debates into Sanskrit?
Speaker Om Birla responds 🔥: In which country are you living? Debates are translated in 22 languages but you have problem with Sanskrit, with Hindi. It will be translated pic.twitter.com/q3CFXORsWM
— Megh Updates 🚨™ (@MeghUpdates) February 11, 2025
However, it is noteworthy that Maran exposed his ignorance when he claimed that only 73000 people in India spoke the language. Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh have designated Sanskrit as official languages of the state. In 2010, Uttarakhand became the first state in India to designate Sanskrit as its second official language. In 2019, Himachal Pradesh followed as the second state to grant Sanskrit the same status.
Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh both have Sanskrit as their second official language. 😀 https://t.co/lwpvhXO17v
— Sumanth Raman (@sumanthraman) February 12, 2025
Additionally, Wikipedia says that there are 2,360,821 total speakers of Sanskrit in India, as of 2011. So, on both fronts – be it numbers or assuming that no one speaks it or its official status, Dayanidhi Maran has made a fool of himself by just opening his mouth over a non-issue and creating an illusion that he is fighting for judicious use of taxpayers’ money!
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