Sanskrit and the Cultural Heritage of South Asia
Sanskrit is often seen as a language of the distant past, or of a single religion. Is that true?
Join us for a conversation that explores Sanskrit as the shared cultural foundation of South Asia. Discover how its rich legacy lives on in our languages including Urdu, in our poetry, music, philosophy and everyday culture – from Taxila to Thanjavur.
About the guest speaker:
Dr. Shahid Rasheed is Associate Professor of Sociology at Forman Christian College University, Lahore. His academic journey is uniquely interdisciplinary – he studied Electrical Engineering at UET Lahore, Law at the University of the Punjab, earned his M.Sc. in Sociology from the University of Oxford, and completed his PhD in Islamic Thought and Civilization from UMT Lahore.
Before joining academia, he served in the Civil Services of Pakistan (1999-2008).
With a deep passion for classical languages, Dr. Rasheed has learned Sanskrit and pioneered its teaching in Pakistan through a series of workshops across various forums after Partition.
He is also the founder of the Zaawiya Trust School, an alternative education initiative based on holistic learning for underprivileged children.
He is the author of four books, including An Outline of Sociology (2002), Muslim Attitudes Towards Political Modernity (2022), and Bansuri ka Khawab (2025), an Urdu translation of short stories by Tolstoy and Hesse.
This session is free and open to all. Just visit the venue to attend it.
The Black Hole
Plot 5H, Street 100, G-11/3, Islamabad.
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