In the past ten years, the central government has very well strengthened the notion of reclaiming and preserving the beacon of cultural heritage and promoting not only a Bharat Centric approach but also energizing the idea of global welfare through the age-old Sanatan principle of ‘Vasudhaiva Kuttumbakkam.’ The government has cleared their agenda with a well revered slogan ‘Vikas Bhi Orr Virasat Bhi.’ Once our Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji said that, ‘we have to liberate ourselves from the slave mindset which is evident in multiple things within or around us.’
The main focus of the foreign bigots was to depredate the Cultural heritage, dharma, and education system of Bharat because even they were aware to the point that if they wanted to rule over Bharat, then for the same purpose, they had to make people of Bharat, cultural slaves. At first, the British designed their evil plan to destroy Bharat’s indigenous culture by terming Bharatiya Culture, history, and Vedic texts as baseless, superstitious and stereotypical. Later, they branded and imposed colonial texts; language, education, history and culture upon us and ultimately end up in making us cultural slaves
Removing symbols of Cultural slavery:
The henchmen of these foreign bigots living in Bharat are working relentlessly to shield the evil notions of invaders and symbols of slavery. The sad part is that these people are freely living around us and playing with the nation’s pride in front of our eyes. Whenever the government attempts to turn down the symbols of slavery, these henchmen appear to create obstacles in the path. To illustrate, the government replaced George V’s statue with Netaji’s statue; three indigenous laws replaced British-made IPC, Crpc and IEA; the practice of tunes with Indian fervour at the “Beating the Retreat” Ceremony and the construction of the National War Memorial and merging of Amar Jawan Jyoti with the same.
The problem of these people again arose when the Indian Navy ensign removed St. George’s Cross and replaced it with the seal of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and the National Flag. A recent development regarding the Bharatiya Navy witnessed the induction of Kurta Pajama for Navy officers in messes. After building the indigenous parliament, Central Vista, the central government further changed the name of Raj Path (King’s Way) to Kartavya Path so that whenever any lawmaker or MP passes through the same towards parliament, they should remember that they are going to perform their duty towards the nation and its people not to enjoy the rule like a king.
Renaming to the origin:
Additionally, names of other cities like Allahabad, Aurangabad, Osmanabad, and Hoshangabad again reinstated to their original names reading Prayagraj, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Dharashiv and Narmadapuram, respectively. A frequently rallied question arises against the renaming, contests that renaming promotes Islamophobia and destruction of Islamic legacy, but how can it be against Islam or a threat to the Islamic legacy to change the name of a place named after tyrants?
In reality, the Mughals and other tyrants invaded our country, plundered towns and cities, devastated temples, persecuted and forcibly converted people; thus, glorification of them is not just an insult to our ancestors but a collective insult to our country and its inhabitants. There are several places named after personalities or luminaries following Islamic faith, such as Dalhousie Road, which was changed to Dara Shikoh Road, whereas two significant places of the country are renamed to honor the sacrifice of Bharat’s former president and a revered scientist Dr APJ Abdul Kalam that changes Aurangzeb Road as Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Road and Wheeler Island of Odisha as Abdul Kalam Island.
Other schemes and contribution towards Reclaiming Cultural beacon:
Under the PRASAD (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive) scheme, the central government has approved around 45 projects worth 1584.42 cr to improve religious tourism and strengthen cultural heritage. The overall development of pilgrimage sites such as Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, Ujjain’s Mahakaal Lok Project, Guwahatti’s Ma Kamakhya Corridor, Somnath Temple Project and Kedarnath Project along with Adi Guru Shankaracharya’s Samadhi carried out at a ravishing speed.
Recently, the world has witnessed Pran Pratishtha of Ayodhya’s Prabhu Shri Ram Lalla temple through which Bharat has delivered a Universal message that the consecration of Prabhu Shri Ram temple is a moment of celebration not only for Bharat but for the entire world because the legacy and principles of Prabhu Shri Ram are transcending religions.
Apart from Hindu pilgrimage sites, the government of Bharat has extended their efforts towards strengthening the cultural heritage of Buddhists, Sikhs and other religions. These works include Kartarpur Corridor, Kushinagar International Airport inauguration to ensure smooth connectivity to the most auspicious Buddhist site, Parinirvana Stupa, also known as Mahaparinirvana Temple, from where Gautama Buddha departed for heavenly adobe. Thus, it strengthens the notion behind PM Narendra Modi’s slogan, “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayaas.”
The government of Bharat retrieved 250 plus artifacts in just the past 10 years, marking another iconic feat in reviving Bharat’s heritage and culture. Until 2014, Bharat only managed to recover 13 artifacts, especially over a long period of 65 years. Meanwhile, the government’s gestures like installation of Sengol in the New Parliament, Central Vista and Kashi Tamil Sangamam promotes brotherhood among the distinct states and even quashes the Anti-Bharat agenda of Regionalism.
In 2015, the government decided to develop 12 heritage cities under the HRIDAY (Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojna) scheme. Similarly, another project launched by the centre, the Swadesh Darshan scheme, under which the government targets the development of 15 tourism circuits across Bharat. Looking at the figures, now Bharat has 42 registered UNESCO World Heritage sites, and our tentative list has increased from only 15 in 2014 to 52 in 2022.
Offering respect to Forgotten Heroes:
Mughals who invaded our country plundered towns and cities, devastated temples, persecuted and forcibly converted people, glorification of them is not just an insult of our ancestors but, collective insult of our country and its people. Erasing the names of Mughals and honoring the place with its original name or after someone who sacrificed himself or herself for that concerned area is justified and following the same notion the names of Mughalsarai and Mughal Garden are changed to Deen Dayal Upadhyay nagar and Amrit Udyan respectively.
Additionally, the forgotten heroes of Bharat whose tales were suppressed by political parties for years but, today these heroes are getting light and attention. Even PM Modi himself mentions some of the forgotten heroes, activists and their tales that includes Birsa Munda, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, VD Savarkar, Vallabhbhai Patel, Chowdhary Charan Singh, Lal Bahadur Shahstri, JP Narayan, Tantia Mama, Maharaj Mahendra Pratap, and several others. The government has even announced construction of 10 new Tribal freedom fighter’s museums with an aim to bring out historic struggle led by the tribal groups.
An opinion:
Even after 75 years of independence, those who speak Hindi or any other Bharatiya language instead of English, those who wear Dhoti Kurta or any Bharatiya attire instead of western one are still seen with inferiority complex and often fell victims of disdain. Even today, country’s top most institutes are still unable to adopt any Bharatiya language and instead of that some of them made English language mandatory for communication in the official premise. All these practices/illustrations are evident enough that how badly we are trapped in this cultural slavery. But, through National Education Policy, 2020 the hopes of strengthening Bharat culturally are still open and possible in which the students will get opportunity to learn and practice their native languages as well.
Conclusion:
Thus, the elimination of these colonial symbols is justified because they remind us of our agonizing days of slavery and are further responsible for the glorification of the bigots who killed and tortured our ancestors. By restoring its spiritual, historical, and cultural identity, the nation will powerfully move towards the target of Vishwa Guru and further explore its cultural roots, which have enough potential to guide the righteous path to the whole world. The advancement in the cultural heritage of Bharat and the beacon of Sanatan Dharma will not only enlighten the people of Bharat, but the light of knowledge will brighten the world with principles like Vasudhaiva Kuttumbakkam. This move further marks Bharat’s civilizational resurgence and rejuvenation and will bring out Bharat’s architectural and spiritual brilliance.