Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday asserted that Sanskrit is a 'scientific' language, claiming that "even NASA scientists have written papers on Sanskrit and have confirmed" this. This assertion, often repeated without substantial supporting evidence, was made during her address at the closing ceremony of a 10-day Sanskrit learning initiative held in the capital.

Speaking at the event, Gupta stated, "Even NASA scientists have written papers on Sanskrit and have confirmed that it is a scientific language. Coding can be done in Sanskrit. Sanskrit is the most computer-friendly language."

Her claim is likely rooted in a 1985 paper published in AI magazine, which has been frequently cited and embellished over the years without significant follow-up research confirming NASA's purported endorsement of Sanskrit as a 'scientific' language for coding.

The paper, titled 'Knowledge Representation in Sanskrit and Artificial Intelligence', was authored by Rick Briggs, a researcher then associated with NASA Ames Research Centre. In his work, Briggs aimed to demonstrate that a "natural language can serve as an artificial language also." He referenced ancient Sanskrit grammarians, suggesting they had developed a method for "paraphrasing Sanskrit in a manner that is identical not only in essence but in form with current work in Artificial Intelligence." However, the paper did not explicitly state that NASA had confirmed Sanskrit as a scientific language suitable for coding.

During her address, Gupta also addressed what she perceived as societal bias against Sanskrit, noting that fluency in foreign languages is often valued more highly as a sign of intelligence. "If our children speak French, German or English fluently, then we consider that child very bright and take pride in that. But when a child can speak Sanskrit with the same fluency, it is not considered a big deal," she said.

Gupta further argued that Sanskrit is not only fundamental to Indian culture but also serves as the origin for numerous Indian languages. "Every state has a mother tongue, but in reality, Sanskrit is our mother tongue as every language has descended from Sanskrit. Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Sindhi, Malayalam -- these are all branches of Sanskrit," she claimed.

The Delhi Chief Minister also announced that the Delhi government would work towards increasing the accessibility of the language, particularly within government schools.

The closing ceremony was also attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra.

The 10-day Sanskrit learning initiative was a collaborative effort between the Delhi government and the NGO Samskrita Bharati. Free Sanskrit classes were conducted at 1,008 locations across the city, including schools, colleges, and temples, with daily two-hour sessions focused on the basics of the language. Gupta emphasized that such efforts are part of a broader initiative to reinstate Sanskrit's prominence in everyday life and education.

Concluding her address, Gupta, a BJP leader, stated, "If we want to be 'Vishva Guru' (world leader), then we have to gain more knowledge by the means of Sanskrit."