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Invaders sought to destroy India’s Sanatan heritage: Yogi
Referring to British rule, Adityanath said the colonial admn adopted a different approach and attempted to create doubts among Indians about their own languages, medical systems and knowledge traditions
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GORAKHPUR Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday claimed that foreign invaders sought to destroy India’s intellectual and Sanatan heritage along with its wealth while the British later attempted to distance Indians from their roots by creating doubts about their languages, traditions and indigenous knowledge systems.
He cited Mahmud Ghaznavi’s attack on the Somnath temple as an example.
“When Mahmud Ghaznavi went to demolish the Somnath temple, the priests told him not to damage the temple or the idol and offered him as much gold and jewellery as he wanted,” Adityanath said addressing a gathering during a lecture session at the seven-day death anniversary programme organised at Shri Gorakhnath Temple to mark the 57th death anniversary of Mahant Digvijay Nath and the 12th death anniversary of Mahant Avaidyanath.
“He (Ghaznavi) said, ‘I have not come merely to loot’. Whatever I get, I will take away, but my objective is to destroy India’s Sanatan tradition,” Adityanath claimed.
He stressed the need to preserve India’s traditional knowledge, establish its relevance through evidence and connect it with modern technology. He also said attacks on temples should be viewed in the broader context of attempts to undermine India’s Sanatan traditions.
Referring to British rule, Adityanath said the colonial administration adopted a different approach and attempted to create doubts among Indians about their own languages, medical systems and knowledge traditions.
“English was given preference over Sanskrit and modern medicine over traditional systems,” he said, adding that this gradually distanced Indians from their traditions, values and roots.
He said Kashi, Ujjain, Kanchi and other centres had flourished as centres of learning, while the Kumbh tradition was not merely about taking a dip at the confluence but also provided an opportunity for India’s seers and scholars to meet, discuss research and share new ideas.
Comparing India’s ancient institutions with those of present-day developed countries, Adityanath said, “The history of today’s developed countries is only 400-500 years old in terms of their prosperity and material achievements, while India had institutions such as Takshashila around 2,600 years ago and Nalanda around 1,700-1,800 years ago.”
Adityanath said more than one lakh ancient manuscripts had been collected at Sampurnanand Sanskrit University in Varanasi, where preservation and digitisation work was underway. He said valuable manuscripts, copper plates and inscriptions had also been found in private collections, monasteries and temples. He cited Ayodhya, Prayagraj, Mathura-Vrindavan and Lucknow among the places where such heritage had been found.
The CM said India’s knowledge tradition had survived despite centuries of foreign rule. “Who is there in India who has linked our festivals and religious traditions to the English calendar? Our auspicious programmes are not determined according to the English date. They are determined according to the Indian calendar and Indian dates,” he added.
Former UP higher education services commission chairman Prof Ishwar Sharan Vishwakarma said, “Development is not possible by cutting ourselves off from our land and roots.”
CM assures action against land grabbers; ₹4L for 2 bereaved families
Despite rain on Thursday morning, chief minister Yogi Adityanath met around 200 people at Gorakhnath Temple during the Janata Darshan and heard their grievances. He directed officials to ensure swift, transparent and time-bound action, particularly in cases involving illegal occupation of land.
The CM interacted with people at the Mahant Digvijay Nath Smriti Bhawan auditorium and assured them that their grievances would be resolved. During the interaction, several women complained that their land had allegedly been forcibly occupied.
Adityanath instructed officials to free the land from illegal possession and initiate strict legal action against those allegedly involved in grabbing property of poor people.
“If any influential person has grabbed the land of a poor person, strict legal action should be taken against them,” he said.
Several other people approached the Janata Darshan seeking financial assistance for the treatment of serious illnesses. In such cases, the CM directed officials to expedite the preparation of hospital estimates and forward the proposals to the government so that financial assistance could be provided from the Chief Minister’s Discretionary Fund.
Earlier on Wednesday night, the CM met two bereaved families in Gorakhpur who had lost their loved ones in a road accident and to cancer. He offered condolences and provided financial assistance from the Chief Minister’s Discretionary Fund.
One of the families was that of Aditya Prajapati of Aurangabad village, who died in a road accident. The other was Munni Devi, whose husband died after battling cancer.
The CM expressed condolences to the families and handed over cheques of ₹2 lakh each as financial assistance from the Chief Minister’s Discretionary Fund. HTC
