Kashmir Impulse Desk
Mumbai, Sep 13
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday called for a broader effort to “decolonise” India’s understanding of its history, languages and cultural heritage, saying the country’s intellectual legacy should be presented from an Indian perspective.
Speaking at the inauguration of the Ganesh Gyanarthi Exhibition organised by the Asiatic Society of Mumbai, Shah said traditional knowledge should be made accessible to students, researchers and scholars.
His remarks came a day before he is due to address Hindi Diwas 2026 and the sixth All India Official Language Conference in Mumbai, where the government will discuss Hindi’s role as the Union’s official and link language and its relationship with other Indian languages.
Shah said preserving a nation’s memory, history, values, language and traditions was essential to its survival.
He rejected criticism that the government’s decolonisation effort amounted to rewriting history, saying it meant presenting history “in a complete, authentic manner and from an Indian perspective”.
He said colonial rule had linked knowledge with political power and argued that India should build national strength by separating knowledge from political control.
Shah said India’s history had long been interpreted through a colonial lens that, in his view, weakened national self-confidence.
He highlighted manuscripts and illustrations held by the Asiatic Society, including material relating to the Mahabharata, Jain Kalpasutra and Buddhist texts.
He also called for the compilation of the works of Bharat Ratna Pandurang Vaman Kane into a collection called Kane Samagra.
Shah urged Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to strengthen the Asiatic Society and link its manuscripts with the Centre’s Gyan Bharatam National Manuscript Mission.
He proposed collecting ancestral documents from villages and private collections across Maharashtra and connecting them to the national manuscript survey.
The government’s Hindi push will continue on Monday, when Shah inaugurates Hindi Diwas and addresses the official-language conference.
The conference will discuss Hindi’s role as an official, people’s and link language, coordination with other Indian languages, technology, translation and literature.
A special session will examine the historical, literary and cultural significance of Vande Mataram.
The government has based its official-language policy on Articles 343 and 351 of the Constitution, which deal with Hindi as the Union’s official language and its promotion and development.
