Chief Minister Vishnudev Sai observed, said – Ancient knowledge is an invaluable heritage of our cultural identity.

Raipur,. Giving new inspiration to the efforts to conserve the invaluable heritage related to the cultural and knowledge tradition of Chhattisgarh, Chief Minister Vishnudev Sai today visited village Bade Kanera of Kondagaon district under Good Governance Tihar on Monday. Here he observed about 150 years old ancient manuscripts written in Oriya language preserved under the Gyan Bharatam Abhiyan and praised the families involved in their preservation.

Chief Minister Sai met village resident Ramuram Yadav and saw eight ancient manuscripts kept safe with him and got detailed information regarding their history, use and conservation. He said that such historical heritages are not just bookish heritage, but are the living identity of our civilization, culture and traditional knowledge system. Preserving them is an important means of connecting the coming generations with their roots.

Praising the families who have preserved these manuscripts for generations, the Chief Minister said that preservation of cultural heritage is not possible without the participation of the society. The families who have preserved these heritages for decades are truly the custodians of our knowledge wealth. On this occasion, Hardu Kashyap of Bade Kanera, Parmeshwar Manikpuri, Trilochan Manikpuri of Amravati, Pursoti Ram Maurya and Chamru Nag of Kopra village also discussed with the Chief Minister. He told that these manuscripts have been preserved in the families since the time of his grandparents and are kept with utmost care even today.

The conservators told the Chief Minister that these manuscripts include important texts like Panjiyar, Panji, Purana, Panchang and Chakrakoot Panchang, which have been used in traditional knowledge, religious rituals, social systems and astrological calculations. These texts also mention local cultural traditions, religious laws and specific systems of time calculation. Chief Minister Sai also took information regarding the process of study of manuscripts, traditional methods of reading and understanding them and the arrangements for their conservation in the present time. He said that in modern times, collective efforts are necessary towards conservation, digitization and systematic documentation of ancient knowledge-wealth, so that the coming generations can also remain connected to their cultural heritage and knowledge tradition.

The Chief Minister said that the Gyan Bharatam Abhiyan, run under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is an important initiative towards the conservation of ancient manuscripts, knowledge traditions and cultural heritage of the country. This campaign is becoming an effective medium to safeguard India’s intellectual heritage as well as connect the new generation with its historical roots.