President honours Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian scholars

New Delhi, March 23 (IANS) President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday awarded certificates of honour to scholars of Sanskrit, Pali/Prakrit, Arabic and Persian and the 'Maharishi Badrayan Vyas Samman' at a function at Rashtrapati Bhavan here.

The recipients of the President's Certificate of Honour for 2014 include 14 scholars for Sanskrit, one for Sanskrit (international), two for Arabic and one each for Persian and Pali/Prakrit.

Under the 'Maharishi Badrayan Vyas Samman', seven scholars were honoured. Four scholars were honoured for Sanskrit and one each for Arabic, Persian and Pali/Prakrit.

K. Krsihnamurthi Sastri, who was honoured for his work in Sanskrit language, told IANS that he was very happy to get the award.

"It's a great feeling... I'm happy to receive the award," he said, adding that this would inspire him to continue his work with more vigour and energy.

Another recipients for the same language, Raja S. Giri Acharya echoed the same sentiment, saying he was happy that his work was recognised and was chosen for the prestigious award.

"I feel really honoured," Acharya told IANS after getting the award.

The scheme for the award was introduced in 1958 by the then education ministry (now known as ministry of human resource development) to honour Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian scholars.

It was extended to cover Pali/Prakrit in 1996. The scheme was extended to cover one international award for a Non-Resident Indian or foreigner in 2008 for their lifetime achievement in the field of Sanskrit.

The 'Maharishi Badrayan Vyas Samman' for young scholars in the age group of 30 to 40 years in the field of Sanskrit, Pali/Prakrit, Arabic and Persian was introduced in 2002.