- Amit Shah inaugurated the ‘Ganesh Gyanarthi Exhibition’ organised by the Asiatic Society of Mumbai.
- He called for digitising the Society’s knowledge resources and sharing them with libraries across India.
- Shah urged greater integration of the Society’s manuscripts with the Gyan Bharatam National Manuscript Mission.
- He said decolonisation means presenting India’s history authentically and from an Indian perspective.
GG News Bureau
Mumbai, 14th Sept: Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah on Sunday inaugurated the ‘Ganesh Gyanarthi Exhibition’ organised by the Asiatic Society of Mumbai.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and President of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai Dr Vinay Sahasrabuddhe were among those present at the event.
Addressing the programme, Shah said he had come to the Asiatic Society not merely as the Union Home Minister but as a participant in the effort to carry forward India’s knowledge tradition. He expressed confidence that the Asiatic Society of Mumbai would become an important bearer of the Indian knowledge tradition and help spread it across the country.
Shah emphasised the need to preserve, digitise and widely share the knowledge and collections held by institutions such as the Asiatic Society. He suggested creating a common platform connecting institutions and libraries that preserve India’s heritage so that their resources can be accessed by students, researchers and scholars across the country.
The Home Minister also called for stronger integration between the Asiatic Society and the Gyan Bharatam National Manuscript Mission. He urged the Society to explore collecting ancestral documents and manuscripts preserved in villages and in the homes of scholars across Maharashtra and linking them with the national manuscript survey.
He stressed the importance of research into the knowledge contained in ancient manuscripts, saying such research could contribute to India’s future development in areas including the economy and defence.
Speaking about Indology and decolonisation, Shah said there was a fundamental distinction between the Indian knowledge tradition and the colonial approach to studying India. He said the Indian knowledge tradition had historically focused on the welfare of the world and the universe.
Shah said decolonisation should not be understood as erasing history. Instead, he described it as presenting India’s history to the people and the world in a complete and authentic manner from an Indian perspective.
He also highlighted the importance of preserving collective memory, history, values, language, records and traditions. Referring to Nalanda, Shah said physical destruction could not erase knowledge preserved through traditions of Shruti and Smriti.
The Home Minister said the Asiatic Society holds valuable collections, including illustrations of the Mahabharata, the Jain Kalpasutra and rare Buddhist texts. He also suggested compiling the works of Bharat Ratna Pandit Pandurang Vaman Kane under ‘Kane Samagra’ for future generations.
Shah said Maharashtra’s rich intellectual and cultural traditions provide a strong foundation for expanding the Society’s knowledge resources. He added that the Government of India, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, would continue to provide support and cooperation to the Asiatic Society of Mumbai.
He further called for institutions preserving knowledge and heritage across villages, towns and states to be connected with the Asiatic Society to create a shared repository accessible to scholars and researchers nationwide.
