Raipur. Governor Ramen Deka has said that the Centre for Culture, Language and Tradition will prove to be an important milestone in the journey of IIT Bhilai. This centre has been established as an interdisciplinary centre of excellence to promote research on cultural heritage and knowledge of tribal communities, endangered languages and sustainable development. The mission of the centre is to bring out the linguistic diversity, cultural pluralism, ecological knowledge and collective memory of the tribal communities of Chhattisgarh in India.
Governor Deka was addressing the function organized on the occasion of the launch of the Centre for Culture, Language and Tradition at IIT Bhilai today as the chief guest. Governor Shri Deka further said that this centre is working in collaboration with the Government of Chhattisgarh to create a nodal knowledge centre. It will include a library and a state-of-the-art extended reality museum on the rich cultural heritage of Chhattisgarh at IIT Bhilai. This knowledge centre has been planned as a repository of oral history and collective cultural memories of the tribal communities of the state.
Governor Deka said that such initiatives are the need of the hour to fulfil our social and national goal of a developed India 2047. In our contemporary era of rapid globalisation, there is a risk that in the development of our nation, we may lose touch with our history, heritage and legacy. Our partnerships, collective unity, desire to uplift our society and make it one of the most prosperous nations in the world sometimes make us forget who we are and where we came from. It is important to remember and constantly remind ourselves that development does not mean uniformity, it does not mean loss of our cultural and ethnic identity. The Governor said that we the people of India are fortunate to be home to one of the oldest civilisations in the world. Indian philosophy, art and architecture have roots that go back thousands of years, and have been refined through the contributions of countless generations of thinkers across castes, creeds and communities. The Governor said that IIT is working on various avenues of research to reclaim this heritage of our Indian knowledge systems. It is documenting and restoring our lost historical heritage and bringing out the benefits of traditional agricultural techniques in restoring degraded ecosystems. It is enabling rural women to achieve resilient livelihoods with digital technologies. The report launched today highlights the heritage and history of our state and the deep ecological and agricultural knowledge of tribal communities.
The Governor congratulated the students and staff of IIT Bhilai for setting up the research centre. On this occasion, Governor Shri Deka launched the Heritage Appreciation of Barsur- Perspectives on History, Architecture and Tourism and Augmenting Livelihoods through GI- A Case Study on Chhattisgarh Report. Governor Shri Deka also visited the Chhattisgarh Tribal Handicrafts stall set up at the venue.
