( 77 ) TO THE BEN GAL ACADEMY OF LITERATURE. salcutta, 212 Nahakrishen's Street, Fron) MOHESH CHUNDRA HOSE, Pingla, 3Ist January 1895. GENTLEMEN, Thanks to you for your kind condescention in asking the opinion of one who feels himself far inferior to you in learning and experience. Circumstances stood in my way of giving you a prompt or timely reply for which I beg to be excused. The questions with reference to which you wish to have my views are, I believe, of vital importance to Society involving much difficulty. Poor as my experience is, I venture not to say that the opinion which I shall herein express, with a brief statement of the grounds on which it is based, should meet the approval of your learned body. Bengali language as it stands at present requires further amelioration or the regeneration of our nation can not be expected to be founded upon a firm and lasting footing. On the other hand the cultivation of the Sanskrit language caused by the introduction of it in the curriculum fixd for examinations in the Calcutta University has brought about, it can not be denied, brilliant results in the way of Social regeneration and a spirit of nationality. We are already aware of the bitter results which in many instances, English education, unac companied with Sanskrit education, brought about in days gone by, it went to anglicise our youths, estrange them from family charitics, and make them abhor any thing that was native. Now, such is not the case. Our youths come out from Colleges imbued with ideas which Sanskrit records have imparted to them regarding their nation as the offspring of illustrious ancestors, in short, they contract a love of nationailiy and hope for amelioration fully realising their present degeneracy. Besides, Bengali owes its vital:- ty to Sanskrit, a language which you gentlemen must concede, can not be over-estimated. We can not therefore expect amelioration of our language without a simultaneous cultivation of the parent language Sanskrit. More-over the introduction of Bengali in place of English in the teaching of History, Geography and Mathematics in Entrance Schools will be in my humble opinion of no great advantage to the youths, for History Geography and Mathematics in Bengali cannot but be translations from the English. It is highly desirable also, that English education must be widely
