HRD Ministry launches project to promote Indic knowledge

By Vijay Phanshikar :

The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development has set in motion a vigorous process at the highest level to initiate ‘research in Indian traditional knowledge systems’. Recogni-sing that there are several persons, groups and institutions working in this area, the Ministry decided to set up a dedicated division to take the initiative further.

A group of scholars, including Dr Anil Sahashrabudhe, Chairman of All India Council for Technical Education, and Dr Anil Joshi, has been nominated to drive the initiative. A meeting led by Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ on March 18, 2020, in New Delhi identified following areas of traditional Indian knowledge to be promoted through the new project: Arts, Music, Dance, Drama, Culture, Agriculture, Water Harvesting, Health, Ayurveda, Nadi Pariksha, Yoga, Mathematics,Science and technology, Physics, Chemistry, Botany, Zoology, Astronomy, Energy Sources, Panchang, Civil Engineering, Architecture, Temple Architecture, Materials and Mechanical Engineering, Musical Instruments, Philosophy, Psychology, Geoarchaeology, Social Sciences, Management, Governance, Economics, Languages, Linguistics, Literature, Sports, Mantras, Genetics, Embryology, Gynaecology, Computational Sanskrit, Ancient Universities, Education etc.

This initiative of the HRD Ministry has its genesis in a serious and widespread intellectual activity going on in the country for the past some time motivated by the thought that traditional knowledge of India has been comprehensive and needs not just to be preserved but also to be implemented and applied practically. An informal grouping that is working in this area is being headed by Dr Vijay Bhatkar, the maker of Param super-computer. Dr Shrinivasa Varakhedi, Vice Chancellor of Kavikulguru Kalidas Sanskrit University, Ramtek; and Dr Sai Susarla, Dean of the School of Vedic Science at MIT, Pune, are other two members of the group whose stated mission is ‘revive Indic thought and study of Sanskrit-based knowledge system for global welfare’.

“The idea is to put this vast resource of traditional knowledge into what we call Mission Mode. The idea is to push the knowledge traditionally available to India into the one of active implementation, like the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) did with its Moon Mission. It harnessed multiple disciplines for the stated mission. We wish to bring out the vast Sanskrit-based Indian knowledge out in the open for active use by promoting its serious studies and research”, Dr Varakhedi told ‘The Hitavada’. The group has called the effort ‘Mission Sanjeevani’.

Dr Varakhedi said that much of the effort in this area so far was in the preservation mode, “as if we have to keep that vast knowledge somehow intact. That idea is passe`. Now we wish to promote Indic culture and knowledge as an active tool in the hands of our country. The idea is also to ensure that all persons and groups and institutions that are already working for the cause are brought together so that the project assumes a national scale”. The group is working to create a system of Sanskrit-based knowledge studies that would have a positive impact on life-style of people in modern India. “We believe that India has a lot of knowledge to offer to the world. We also believe that knowledge is complete. It is constantly evolving and will keep enriching itself with the help of new research etc. Unfortunately, until now, this great repository of traditional knowledge remained concealed in archives and ancient texts. We propose to bring all that out for practical use.

The HRD Ministry is working with the same goal in mind,” Dr Varakhedi added. Highlighting the need for a comprehensive approach to the project, Dr Varakhedi stressed that the whole initiative will have to be brought on the national agenda in the sense private institutions and persons will have to be brought on board with the Government. The HRD Ministry has recognised this aspect correctly,” Dr Varakhedi stated. The Bhatkar-Varakhedi-Susarla group has been actively working on the basic document that would offer a framework for the thought of pushing Indic knowledge into a Mission Mode for active and practical implementation.