Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 21: Jammu and Kashmir Study Centre (JKSC UK) today organized a seminar on “Sharda Civilization: A Cultural and Historic Perspective” at the William Barry Theatre, West London University.
The seminar had a distinguished panel of speakers from various global locations including London, New York, New Delhi and Singapore. Vinod Tikoo, a JKSC volunteer facilitated the seminar and outlined the key purpose of the seminar viz, to inform and educate the audience from the subcontinent, listeners in the UK and global diaspora on the various aspects of Sharda.
Ravinder Pandita, convener of Save Sharda Committee, spoke about the civil society initiatives on both sides of the border and Government to Government dialogue on opening the pilgrimage route to Sharda using the existing cross LoC permit mechanism. A short video produced by Save Sharda Committee was also broadcast to the audience at the seminar.
Rakesh K Kaul, author, The Last Queen of Kashmir, spoke on the historical and academic background of Sharda Peeth and explained how its impact was not limited to the region of J&K but across the Indian subcontinent and even as far as China, drawing parallels to the use of science and technology for story telling in Sharda civilization.
An academic assessment was undertaken on the role of Sharda in shaping languages as well as the present-day Mutt systems in the subcontinent by Sridhar Chityala (Trustee Shingeri Sharda Mutt NA) and Dr SS Toshkhani. Sridhar also provided an overview of the links between the temple and the culture of the region, including its reverence to the South of India.
Speakers, also included Sajjad Raja and Faria Attique , civil society activists from PoK, based in London, who spoke on how Sharda was the common cultural heritage of all people from the State of J&K on both sides of the border. Both emphasised that the region needs to reclaim its historical identity to ensure the diversity, heritage and culture of the region is preserved and nurtured.
Dr Gautam Sen spoke about the academic relevance of Sharda in the context of Taxila and Nalanda as the great trilogy of academic centres of excellence in the sub-continent.
The seminar concluded with a joint declaration on urging administration in Pakistan for preservation and restoration of the Sharda temple complex and opening/reviving the ancient Sharda Peeth Yatra similar on the lines of the current Kartarpur corridor and requested the respective Governments of India and Pakistan to provide the necessary support in this regard.
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