Mumbai, Sep13 (KNS): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said India’s history was not confined to political events but also encompassed its intellectual traditions, culture, languages, philosophy, ancient manuscripts and centuries-old civilisational heritage.

He stressed the need to preserve the country’s ancient knowledge repositories and historical documents and present them to the people of India and the world.

Shah made the remarks after inaugurating an exhibition of manuscripts at the Asiatic Society of Mumbai on Sunday.

Addressing the gathering, the Home Minister said preserving India’s knowledge, history, traditions, languages, ancient manuscripts and archives was an important need of the hour.

He said manuscripts and archives were important intellectual assets of the country and efforts should be made not only to preserve such historical repositories but also to make them accessible to the public.

“Liberating India’s history and intellectual heritage from colonial influence does not mean erasing the past. It means presenting historical truth in an authentic manner from an Indian perspective before the world,” Shah said.

He said understanding India’s history and intellectual traditions required the preservation of its ancient knowledge resources and historical documents.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel

According to the Home Minister, a specific relationship between knowledge and power was established during the colonial period, and freeing knowledge from its influence was an important responsibility in the present era.

Shah clarified that the idea of decolonising history should not be interpreted as an attempt to erase the past.

He said the objective was to present historical facts in a complete and authentic manner from an Indian point of view.

The Union minister said ancient written material and manuscripts available in various Indian languages played an important role in understanding the country’s civilisational and intellectual history.

Preserving these records would provide future generations an opportunity to learn about their historical and intellectual heritage, he said.

Shah also underlined the importance of taking India’s historical and scholarly material to different parts of the country and making it accessible at the global level.

He said the preservation and authentic presentation of historical heritage would help connect the younger generation with the past and enable the world to better understand India’s long intellectual and civilisational tradition.(KNS)