International conference on ‘Walking with River Sarasvati-Recent Historical Cultural and Scientific Findings’

Chandigarh, February 4, 2022: Today i.e. 4th February 2022, the Department of History, Panjab University, Chandigarh in collaboration with Haryana Sarasvati Heritage Development Board organised a one day international conference titled ‘Walking with River Sarasvati-Recent Historical Cultural and Scientific Findings’ which was attended by Galaxy of Intellectuals. The conference was organized in blended mode (offline and online).

Priyatosh Sharma, Chairperson, Department of History, Coordinator of the conference and Fellow, PU initiated the conference with the welcome of guests from different parts of the world. He gave the introduction about the department as well as the theme of the said conference.

Prof Anju Suri, Dept. of History, Director of the Conference and Dean College Development Council, PU shared the relevance of organizing this conference at this point of time.  She also shared the different achievements and the work undertaken by the Dept. of History in the recent times.

Mr. Dhuman Singh Kirmach, Deputy Chairman, Haryana Sarasvati Heritage Development Board along with other dignitaries lighted the lamp to formally begin the proceedings of the conference. He shared the various ongoing projects of the Sarasvati Board and the importance of signing the Memorandum of Understanding between the states of Himachal Pradesh and Haryana to rejuvenate the river Sarasvati.         Dr. (Prof) A.R .Chaudhuri, Director, Centre of Excellence for Research on Sarasvati River, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, highlighted the role of interdisciplinary studies in context to river Sarasvati.

Prof Raj Kumar, Vice Chancellor, Panjab University addressed the audience and stated that Sarasvati is not simply a river with source of water but a cultural norm as a Mother in Indian Civilisation. He said that our Department of History at Panjab University may come with something concrete after today’s deliberations.

Padam Shri Awardee Malini Awasthi, also blessed the audience with her words of wisdom while highlighting how river  Sarasvati has been an inspiration for the Indians generations in context to Indian Geography, Philosophy and Performing Art.       She also shared that as an artist, she considers herself as the creation of Maa Sarasvati. She also appealed the listeners to go back to their roots, read Vedas and develop the wisdom of differentiating between a myth and a fact.

His Excellence Dr. Roger Gopaul, High Commissioner to India from Trinidad and Tobago congratulated the organizers for organizing such an important event on a pertinent theme. He also shared the importance of available text regarding ancient wisdom in higher studies.

Maj Gen (Dr.) G.D Bakshi made an argument that it is high time to decolonise the minds and see the nuances related to River Sarasvati and Sind-Sarasvati Civilisation. He also focused on using the latest scientific technology like remote sensing and carbon dating in understanding the different aspects related to River Sarasvati. With the help of various maps and figure, he tries to debunk the theory of Aryan Migration as well.

Dr A R. Vaidya spoke about river sarasavti not merely as flow of water but a whole entity including its banks , flaura and  fauna , people and writing traditions. There is need to fuse science with ancient texts to make it comprehensible in modern scientific terms.

In this International Conference, three different technical sessions were organized under the chairmanship of Sanjeev Kumar, Deputy Director General, GSI, Paru Bal Sidhu, Chairperson, Department of Ancient Indian History, Culture & Archaeology,PU and Deepti Gupta, Dean International Students, Panjab University, Chandigarh. In these three sessions, 14 research papers from different faculty members, from various parts of the country along with researchers were presented.

Sh Om Prakash Dhankar, President BJP, Haryana State acted as the Chief Guest for the valedictory session. He talked about the relevance of river Sarasvati and how the State Govt. of Haryana is committed to revive river Sarasvati and gift it to the people of this region as their cultural legacy.

Sh. Uma Shankar Pachauri, Joint General Secretary, Bhartiya Sikhshan Mandal, was the guest of honor in this session. He discussed that how river Sarasvati acted as the soul of the Indian civilization which has influenced Indians since ages.

Another eminent Dr. A.K Gupta Former Scientists ISRO talked about the need to have proper ordinance for the exploration of river Sarasvati and how all modern understanding backed by scientific inputs can resolve the various myths about Sarasvati.

Prof Rani Mehta, Chairperson, Department of Sociology read the proceedings of the conference. Prof Reenu Thakur, Department of History gave a formal vote of thanks to all the dignitaries, paper presenters, University authorities, students, media personnel.