Netizens Jeer at Railway’s Decision to Replace Urdu Signboards with Sanskrit in India’s Hill Station

New Delhi (Sputnik): While some have accused the government of dividing Hindus and Muslims along religious lines, others questioned the reason for changing signboards from one less familiar language to other while mocking it. A section of the population has hailed it for attempting to revive Sanskrit, a language of ancient India.

Also known as “Devabhumi” (Land of Gods), the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand will soon replace Urdu language signboards with Sanskrit, the language of sages, at railway stations.

The names written in Hindi, English, and Urdu, will now be replaced with Hindi, English, and Sanskrit as it is the second language of the hill station state.

The decision left several irked on social media, who called it a futile exercise as other important issues still remain under the rug.  

However, many welcomed the decision, citing the benefits of Sanskrit.

According to railway authorities, the decision has come with respect to the Railway Manual which holds that the name of railway stations on platforms should be written in the second official language of the state concerned after Hindi and English.

The state, known for hundreds of Hindu temples and shrines, is mentioned in the Hindu scriptures which reveal that sages visited the mountains in the region to meditate and attain salvation. Therefore, Sanskrit was made the second official language of the state in 2010 by then-chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.

Sourse: sputniknews.com