SPEECH BY HER EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT OF INDIA, SHRIMATI PRATIBHA DEVISINGH PATIL,AT THE CELEBRATIONS OF 225 YEARS OF THE ASIATIC SOCIETY

Kolkata, West Bengal, 23rd August 2008

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a pleasure to participate in the celebrations of 225 years of the Asiatic Society, Kolkata. I would like to commend the work of all involved in this Society, which in its journey has contributed to the development of scientific and scholarly institutions in India.

I am pleased to be in West Bengal, a State that has contributed to the freedom and growth of India in numerous ways. It has produced some of India's greatest freedom fighters, social reformers, philosophers, writers, poets, academicians and film makers. It is for these and many other reasons that Bengal is referred to as the intellectual, literary and cultural centre of India. The capital, Kolkata, reflects the ethos of Bengal's culture. It is a vibrant city - full of creative energy. It is also a historic city which houses many institutions of exceptional repute like the Indian Museum, the National Library and the Asiatic Society.

Sir William Jones, a Judge of the Bengal Supreme Court and a great scholar of his times, founded the Asiatic Society in 1784. As an Orientalist, he was aware of the rich philosophy and varied culture of the East. The Asiatic Society was set up as an institution that would explore whatever was performed by men and produced by nature in the Asian continent. It was, indeed, an all embracing concept and needless to say a daunting task. But the Society's work covered such a wide range of activities, that it was impressive both with respect to the vastness of its work and the depth of its research.

The Asiatic Society initiated scientific investigations into the different fields of humanities and science. It nurtured and developed major fields like archaeology, meteorology and historiography in India. Many national organizations like the Indian Museum, the Geological Survey of India, the Archaeological Survey of India, the Zoological Survey of India and the Botanical Society, among others, are the offshoots of the Asiatic Society. I also understand that the Asiatic Society was the earliest printing house in India. Books published at the Asiatic Society in the Bibliotheca Indica series were appreciated by scholars all over the world. In addition, it has been collecting books, art objects and artifacts over the last more than two centuries. In books alone, its current collection includes more than one lakh ancient and modern books. Apart from being a centre of learning, it is a museum and a library.

The founders of the Society were looking at an interchange of ideas and views contained in Indian and European learning. In the process, the Asiatic Society became a messenger of Indian philosophy to the Western world and vice-versa. Its work was exemplary in drawing attention to India's rich heritage, its values, its literature, its mathematics, medicine, astronomy as well as its methodology of scientific investigation. Indian wisdom added to Western thinking. In India, the Society was able to decipher the Brahmi script that facilitated the understanding of the inscription of numerous Ashokan edicts. The Society was able to identify that Sandrokottos in Greek writings was Chandra Gupta of the Mauryan dynasty of India, thus establishing linkages between events in ancient India and those in other civilizations. It can rightly be said that the Asiatic Society is an institution that reflected history and also contributed to it by retrieving, studying and preserving the ancient remains, thus revealing the country's past. It, therefore, today clearly deserves to be called an "Institution of National Importance", a status that was conferred on it in 1984.

While through its work, the Society had revealed the cultural and intellectual achievements of India to the rest of the world, it also influenced Indian thought. It played a role in sparking India's renaissance movement, of which the Bengal renaissance was an important aspect. An awakened intellectual questioning propelled social reform, literary outpouring and a quest for national freedom.

Many speak of the 21st century as being the century of Asia and hence there is a renewed global interest about Asia and about India. Indology, covering a range of issues about India, is being given great importance in academic, commercial and political institutions in many parts of the world as a part of the desire to engage with India. The Asiatic Society has a role to play in this endeavour. With the richness of its library and collection of its arts, it can become an important institution for the dissemination of information. I would encourage the Asiatic Society to develop partnerships with other academic and research institutions in India and abroad to enrich work about Indian cultural thought.

India occupies an important place on the cultural map of the world. We are one of the oldest and continuous civilizations of the world. This has been possible because of our inherent strengths and resilience as well as our ability to incorporate change and cope with new ideas without losing our basic character and values. Resultantly, today, we have inherited a valuable range of art, literature, monuments and values of tolerance and harmony that enrich our lives. We are a country with a great diversity of languages, religions, customs and traditions that together constitute our composite culture. The diversity of India makes it a country of numerous lamps. If I may use a simile - the lamps may be different but the light is the same - and it shines as India. Each one of us must honour our cultural legacy and safeguard it for our future generations. Under the Constitution, it is the duty of each and every citizen of India to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture. I call upon all people of the country to participate in the learning, understanding and conservation of our diverse and rich culture.

We are living in times of considerable change and in a globalised world, in which there is a constant interaction and flow of ideas. India has always influenced the world and I am confident that it would continue to do so. We look at the world as one family and believe that it should be the collective endeavour of humanity to bring development and prosperity to the world. All human beings desire to progress and prosper in an atmosphere of peace and stability. Our nation is committed to inclusive growth where all sections of society, particularly the weaker and disadvantaged, can benefit from economic growth. Pro-poor schemes must be implemented vigorously and their monitoring done regularly. This requires the collective effort of the Government, civil society organizations and the people themselves.

Contributing to social upliftment and rendering service for the benefit of humanity are important for inclusive growth. These concepts are not alien to our culture rather they are an integral part of our cultural consciousness. Working for the welfare of others finds numerous references in our scriptures and literature. Gurudev Rabindranath Thakur has eloquently spoken about how working for others gives immense joy and satisfaction. He said:

"I slept and dreamt that life was joy.

I awoke and saw that life was service.

I acted and behold, service was joy."

In all its years of existence, the Asiatic Society has stood at the forefront of service in enhancing research and pursuit of knowledge in the country. The countless works of scholarship which have been published by the Society as well as under its patronage, testify to its ongoing tradition of service to the Nation. I am confident that the Asiatic Society will face the challenges of the twenty first century with the same spirit of dedication and scholarship as of the last more than two centuries since its foundation.

I wish the Asiatic Society all success.

Thank You.

Jai Hind