The Vice President, Shri JagdeepDhankhar today emphasized the need to explore and rediscover our traditional knowledge systems by combating prejudices against them. He said that some people who are cynical and recipe for chaos, raise questions and dismiss our traditional knowledge as unscientific, archaic without studying it. “Such prejudice against Indian knowledge and Indian knowledge systems in certain sections of academic discourse is contrary to the concept of modern scientific temper,” he stressed.

Addressing the gathering during RajanakaPuraskar ceremony in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala today, the Vice President underlined that a nation is known not just by its boundaries but by the depth of its culture. Opining that culture brings peace of soul, satisfaction & inner growth, he called for devoting more time to our culture.

“I urge young minds, I call upon corporates, I call upon academia that while they must focus on matters of moment, they must never ignore our cultural wealth,” he emphasized while highlighting the need for preservation and promotion of the culture.

The Vice President said that the entire world rejoiced when we had consecration of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya. This landmark event demonstrated two things - we believe in our cultural identity and at the same time we believe in legal regime, he added stressing that this brought an end to five centuries of excruciating pain.

Reiterating that our age old civilisational ethos has always been infused with spiritual oneness, transcending diversities, Shri Dhankhar highlighted that 13 Kali temples still following Kashmir Shaivism in Kerala, exemplify the deep integration of India's spirit from Kashmir to the Kerala.

Drawing upon his vast experience in legal arena, he added, “this ageless unity is reflected in one of the often missed aspect of our Constitution - the Sketches from our history and epics, drawn by the renowned artist Shri Nand Lal Bose, in the Original Manuscript of our Constitution.”

Describing these drawing as an integral part of our Constitution, VP said that they represent our collective memory of Bharat’s glorious history and her spiritual- ethical moorings.

In his address, VP expressed his happiness that on Women’s Day, Dr. Sudha Murthy, an illustrious woman dedicated to social progress and committed to development of vulnerable sections of society has been nominated to Rajya Sabha by President of India-herself a tribal woman.

Referring to the passage of Nari Shakti VandanAdhiniyam, he described India as “the epicenter of women led empowerment.”

During the award ceremony two eminent scholars were honoured with Rajana Awards - Dr. Mark Dyczkowski and Dr. NavjivanRastogi for their dedication to Kashmir Shaivism. It may be noted that‘Rajanaka’ (राजनका) awards is an ancient title symbolising the union of power and wisdom.

Shri Arif Mohammad Khan, the Governor of Kerala, Shri J Nandakumar, National Convener, PrajnaPravah, Dr R Ramanada, Director, Abhinavgupta Institute of Advanced Studies, and other dignitaries attended the event.

Click here for the full text of the speech –

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2012788

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MS/JK/RC