Tezzbuzz Desk- Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday inaugurated the Ganesh Gyanarthi Exhibition organized at the Asiatic Society, Mumbai. During this, he stressed the need to preserve Indian knowledge tradition, history and cultural heritage. Shah said that the identity of any country is formed by its memories, history, language, culture and traditions. The country which does not protect them gradually comes to an end.
In his address, Amit Shah said that true knowledge is never hostage to any ideology. Knowledge itself is an ideology and should be allowed to develop freely. He said that if knowledge is limited to any limit or ideology, then its original meaning is changed.
Referring to the knowledge, documents and collections preserved in the Asiatic Society, Shah said that the need now is to use this wealth for the building of India and the welfare of all humanity. He said that more important than discussing when and for what purpose the institution was established, is how the knowledge present here can be used to build a modern and great India.
Gave the example of Nalanda
Citing the example of India's ancient knowledge tradition, Amit Shah mentioned Nalanda University. He said that there were many attempts to destroy the knowledge of India, but they could not succeed. According to Shah, the library of Nalanda can be burnt, but the memories, traditions and knowledge present in the collective consciousness of the people cannot be destroyed.
He said that it is not possible to keep a country a slave for long which preserves its culture, history, language, records, traditions and grammar. Even if such a country suffers foreign rule for centuries, its original identity and knowledge traditions remain alive.
Criticism of colonial perspective
Shah also criticized the colonial interpretation of Indian history and knowledge. He said that India's intellectual traditions were studied from a foreign perspective for a long time. Knowledge of India was not presented in an Indian voice, but interpreted through a colonial lens.
He said that such interpretation was aimed at undermining the self-confidence of the Indian society and creating an inferiority complex among the people. Shah expressed confidence that the Asiatic Society, under its new leadership, will work to preserve the Indian knowledge tradition and disseminate it across the country.
'Decolonization is not erasing history'
Amit Shah said that decolonization i.e. freedom from colonialism does not mean erasing history. This means that history and knowledge should be presented to the people with complete truth, without any distortion, from the Indian perspective.
He said that it is important to present the rich traditions and knowledge of India to the world in the right context. The ultimate objective of the collection present in the Asiatic Society should be the welfare of the country, society, world and humanity. Shah expressed hope that the institution will become the carrier of the Indian knowledge tradition and pass on this heritage to the coming generations.