Addressing the inaugural annual conference of the Indian Knowledge System (IKS), VP highlighted that India’s rise as a global power must be accompanied by the rise of its intellectual and cultural gravitas.
What is the Traditional Indian Knowledge System (IKS)?
- It encompasses a millennia-old intellectual tradition covering fields like art, music, dance, drama, to mathematics, astronomy, science, technology, etc., hidden in Sanskrit, Prakrit, Tamil, Pali, etc.
- For example, ayurveda, yoga, Surya Siddhanta, Natya Shastra, number systems (including zero), etc.
- Global Centres of Learning: Takshashila, Nalanda, Vikramashila, Vallabhi, Odantapuri, etc. were global universities in ancient India, where seekers came from Korea, China, Tibet, and Persia.
Need for Safeguarding IKS
- Decolonization of Mind: To undo the colonial legacy that undervalued indigenous thought systems and imposed Western epistemologies as universal truths.
- Prevent Marginalization of Knowledge System: Dominance of European cultural perspectives hinders India’s TKS integration into mainstream academia. E.g., attempts of patent application for healing properties of haldi in the US.
- Limited Engagement: Young scholars are discouraged from pursuing IKS as a field of study as it is often misunderstood, misrepresented, or relegated to the periphery.
- Soft Power: IKS can boost cultural diplomacy (e.g. International Yoga Day), academic influence (e.g., revival of Nalanda university), tourism (e.g., ingenious architecture of World Heritage Sites like Rani ki Vav)
Steps Taken to Preserve IKS
|
