New Delhi, September 12: Prime Minister Narendra Modi described India’s ancient manuscripts as the basis of world heritage and said that India is going to present its cultural and intellectual heritage to the world with pride.
The Prime Minister was addressing the three-day international conference Gyan Bharatam at Vigyan Bhavan here on Friday.
Prime Minister said that the Gyan Bharatam mission is not only an effort to digitize ancient manuscripts but it is also going to become a proclamation of India’s culture, literature and consciousness. India’s knowledge tradition is based on four major pillars – preservation, innovation, promotion and adaptation. On these very bases, India has developed as a living flow for thousands of years.
He said, “India is a living flow in itself, which has been created by its thoughts, ideals and values. In the ancient manuscripts of India, we get to see the lines of India’s continuous flow. These manuscripts are also a manifesto of our unity in diversity.”
The Prime Minister also launched a portal related to ‘Gyan Bharatam’ on this occasion. He said that this is not just a government or academic program but a mission that will connect future generations with their traditions and heritage.
He said that today India has the world’s largest manuscript collection, numbering around one crore. Under the cruel circumstances of history, millions of manuscripts were burnt or lost, but those that survived are a testimony to the deep devotion of our ancestors towards education and knowledge.
He said, “Reading a manuscript is like travelling through time. Today we can print out manuscripts in minutes, but in ancient times scholars had to write every word by hand. Even then India had established the world’s largest libraries.”
The Prime Minister said that in ancient times Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang (Hensang) had taken more than 650 manuscripts with him from India and their description was extremely impressive. Many of these manuscripts reached Japan from China and were preserved there as national heritage in the seventh century. Even today, India’s ancient manuscripts are safe in many countries.
Modi said that the Gyan Bharatam Mission is not limited to saving India’s heritage, but it is also an effort to unite humanity’s common heritage.
Referring to the efforts taken during the G20 cultural dialogue and the cooperation of countries like Mongolia and Thailand, he said that India is moving forward in this direction through global partnership.
He said that earlier the return of stolen idols and heritage was very rare, but now hundreds of idols have been returned. The reason for this is that the world has faith that India will keep them safe. and will give a respectable place.
Modi said that information about India’s traditional medical practices and other knowledge systems is often copied and patented by foreign institutions. This is a serious challenge. He said that digitization of manuscripts under the Gyan Bharatam Mission will help stop such intellectual piracy.
The Prime Minister said that Artificial Intelligence (AI) cannot replace human talent and resources. He said, “AI cannot replace talent and human resources. We also do not want this to happen, otherwise new slavery will start.”
He said that AI is a supporting system which increases our speed and power. With the help of AI, ancient texts can be studied in depth and new formulas can be discovered. This technology will open the door to new possibilities in the analysis of manuscripts.
The Prime Minister said that the history of India is not just the story of victory and defeat of empires. The real power of India lies in its thoughts, ideals and vision. No matter how many geographical changes have taken place, the soul of India and its cultural flow from the Himalayas to the Indian Ocean never broke.
The Prime Minister said that the Gyan Bharatam Mission will secure India’s invaluable heritage for the coming generations and will give the message to the world community that India works as a flow of knowledge and consciousness not only for itself but for the entire humanity. On this occasion, Modi also visited the exhibition organized at the Gyan Bharatam International Conference. This three-day conference has been organized by the Ministry of Culture, in which special attention is focused on the ancient manuscripts and knowledge traditions of India. Exhibitions were held.