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Underscoring the critical need to preserve civilisational records, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday asserted that a society that forgets its past compromises its own destiny, stating that "if one forgets history, one may have a present, but no future."
Addressing the inauguration of the 'Ganesh Gyanarthi' exhibition at the iconic Asiatic Society of Mumbai in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, the Chief Minister highlighted the 222-year-old institution's role as a vital repository of the country's cultural and intellectual evolution. "The Asiatic Society of Mumbai is regarded as an extremely important landmark in the history of Mumbai. It has a history spanning nearly 222 years, and the main building itself has stood for more than 200 years. It is among the oldest institutions of its kind in India and carries an illustrious history," Fadnavis said. Tracing the institution's journey, Fadnavis noted that while the society was founded during British rule with initial entry restricted solely to Europeans, Indians were admitted starting in 1841, after which indigenous scholars enriched the archives with critical texts, philological treatises, and research. "I believe when we look at these documented archives and all the historical artefacts, we find many treasures that connect us with our history and our civilisation. We always say that history is important because if one forgets history, one may have a present, but no future. Therefore, if one has to fathom the future, knowing history is essential. How our humanity, culture, philosophy, scholarly traditions, and various sciences developedthe documentation of all these things is of paramount importance," the Chief Minister stressed. Fadnavis also challenged the widespread perception that institutional archiving and libraries were introduced to India by colonial authorities, emphasising India's ancient tradition of knowledge curation. "Many believe this tradition might have been introduced to us by the British, but we know that this tradition is ancient in our land. It is said that when Bakhtiyar Khilji set fire to the library at Nalanda University, the repository of texts was so massive that the library continued to burn for nearly three months. Despite that devastation, many scholars carried away as many manuscripts as they could during those invasions. Hence, a profound legacy of knowledge preservation has always existed with us," he remarked. The Chief Minister also congratulated the newly elected governing council led by senior BJP leader Vinay Sahasrabuddhe for rejuvenating the historic institution and restoring its public footprint. "In recent times, the Asiatic Society had somewhat lost its public accessibility; at times it felt as though it was suffocating. I warmly congratulate the newly elected governing body, Vinay ji, and all our colleagues for revitalising it and allowing it to breathe freely again. I am confident that, taking this fresh breath, the Society will take a new flight and take its work forward remarkably well," Fadnavis added. Speaking on the Union Home Minister's visit, Asiatic Society Mumbai President Vinay Sahasrabuddhe said, "Union Home Minister Amit Shah came and discussed ways to resolve the difficulties faced by our society. When I met him, I invited him to visit us. He accepted the invitation and took the time to understand the work in detail. For his visit, we specially curated a small exhibition of our ancient manuscripts, archival collections and coins. The most gratifying part was that he blessed us and said that we should continue our work." (ANI)
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