New Delhi, Oct 28 Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Wednesday said India is not merely an entity confined within geographical boundaries but a cultural nation shaped by thousands of years of continuity, knowledge, struggle and experience.
Shekhawat was addressing a gathering at the launch of the book ‘Timeless India: Protection & Revival of Indian Cultural Identity under the Leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’ at the Dharohar Bhawan, the headquarters of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which hosted the event along with the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA).
The book has been published by IGNCA and Subhi Publications and edited by former Rajya Sabha member Tarun Vijay.
“India is not merely an entity confined within geographical boundaries, but a cultural nation shaped by thousands of years of continuity, knowledge, spiritual practice, struggle and experience. India’s civilisation and cultural consciousness have flowed uninterrupted through centuries,” Shekhawat said.
“India has established connections with civilisations across the world through dialogue and cultural exchange. Its knowledge traditions, architectural heritage and cultural legacy have attracted many countries around the world,” he added.
During the colonial rule, “efforts were made to weaken Indians’ sense of pride” in their civilisation, culture and traditions. This also influenced the way Indians viewed their own knowledge traditions and cultural ideals, an IGNCA statement quoted the minister as saying.
“The distinctive feature of Indian civilisation is its ability to draw inspiration from the past while moving towards the future. Ideals represented by Lord Ram and Lord Krishna, along with the traditions of sages, thinkers and seekers of knowledge, remain important foundations for India’s cultural consciousness,” he said.
The book explores the role of monuments in preserving and revitalising India’s cultural identity, alongside the discourse surrounding the nation’s historical memory.
It gives particular importance to monument preservation and the idea of “decolonising the nation’s memory”, highlighting the need to understand India’s cultural heritage through its “own historical experiences, traditions and cultural outlook”, the statement said.
Union Minister of State Jitendra Singh, former Rajya Sabha member and ex-president of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, were present on the occasion, among others.
In a separate statement, the tourism ministry said the Indian Culinary Institute (ICI) on Wednesday signed an MoU with the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), providing for the recognition of ICI’s BBA and MBA programmes by the JNU, enabling the university to award degrees to students completing these courses at ICI.
The MoU was signed by JNU V-C Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit and Gyan Bhushan, Director, ICI, in the presence of Shekhawat and Tourism Secretary Bhuvnesh Kumar.
The recognition of ICI’s BBA and MBA programmes by JNU, commencing from the next academic year, is expected to enhance academic and professional opportunities for the students, the statement said.
(PTI News)
