Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said attempts to erase India’s rich intellectual heritage had failed despite efforts by various forces over the years.
Addressing the inauguration of the ‘Ganesh Gyanarthi Exhibition’ hosted by the Asiatic Society of Mumbai, Shah said preserving the nation’s collective memory remained essential for its long-term strength. He stressed that a country must protect its history, values, languages, records and traditions to safeguard its identity and prevent cultural decline.
Shah said he visited the Asiatic Society as a participant in the wider effort to carry India’s knowledge tradition into the future rather than simply as a Union Minister. He argued that colonial interpretations had frequently documented Indian knowledge without giving adequate space to India’s own perspective.
According to Shah, such approaches attempted to weaken public confidence by creating a sense of collective inferiority. He described Maharashtra as the land of the ‘Saraswats’ and said the Asiatic Society could play a major role in expanding the knowledge resources preserved in the state.
Shah urged the Society to integrate its manuscript collection with the Gyan Bharatam National Manuscript Mission launched by the Government of India. He proposed a state-wide campaign to locate and collect ancestral documents preserved in villages and in the homes of scholars.
The Home Minister said extensive research was necessary to understand the knowledge contained in India’s manuscripts. He recalled that a Jain monk had highlighted during the first informal meeting of the Gyan Bharatam Manuscript Mission that these texts contained knowledge capable of helping India achieve global leadership in economic and defence capabilities.
Institutional Support
Shah said he had asked Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to strengthen the Asiatic Society and provide it with greater institutional support. He said such a network could create a common repository that would allow students, researchers and scholars nationwide to access India’s vast knowledge heritage.
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