Nation’s strength lies in originality of thought, says V-P Dhankhar
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, July 10
Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar said Islamic invasion and British colonisation had “stunted” the Indian knowledge system.
Speaking at inaugural session of the first annual academic conference on Indian Knowledge System (IKS) at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Dhankhar said, “Islamic invasion of India had caused the first interlude in the glorious journey of ‘Bharatiya Vidya Parampara’. Instead of embracing and assimilation, there was contempt and destruction. The British colonisation brought forth the second interlude, when Indian Knowledge System was stunted, stymied and subverted. Centres of learning changed their motives.
The compass was moderated. From bearing sages and ‘savants’, it started producing clerks and yeomen. The needs of the East India Company to have brown ‘babus’ replaced the need of the nation to have thinkers.”
He said the strength of a nation lied in the originality of its thought and the timelessness of its values, criticising the post-independence neglect of indigenous knowledge systems and the dominance of Western constructs.
Emphasising the critical role of academia in shaping national consciousness, JNU Vice-Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit on Thursday said political power could not be sustained without narrative power.
“Political power requires narrative power. So, intellectuals are very important, and it is the duty of higher education institutions to do it,” she said.
“We hope this first conference will come out with path-breaking papers and will form the basis for any systematic study of Indian knowledge systems. It will also help build narrative power when the prime minister’s vision is to make ‘Viksit Bharat’,” Pandit added.
The three-day conference, being held from July 10 to 12, is aimed at exploring India’s indigenous systems of knowledge in the fields of philosophy, science and arts. It features academic panel discussions focused on integrating traditional knowledge into contemporary education and policy frameworks.
Attends event at JNU
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday said he would retire in August 2027, adding with a smile that it would be “subject to divine intervention”. He made the remark while speaking at an event at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi. “I will retire at the right time, August 2027, subject to divine intervention,” Dhankhar said in a light-hearted manner.
Delhi