Many distortions in history, present real picture of India to younger generation: VP Naidu

There were many "distortions" in the history drafted by the colonial rulers, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said on Thursday while calling for presenting the "real history" of India to the younger generations.

"Unfortunately our history books did not mention about the contributions made by many illustrious sons and daughters of India," he said after presenting Punyabhushan Award to eminent archaeologist GB Deglurkar in Pune.

Outlining that in India more than 3,600 monuments of national importance were being protected and preserved by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Naidu said that it was important to protect and conserve the glorious history of the country embedded in these structures.

"All of them are relics of India's past and symbols of our cultural expressions," he said according to a statement issued by the Vice President's office.

"Archaeological sites act as the bridges to connect the present with the past and reveal different facets of the past to mankind. Archaeology has tremendous potential to reconstruct and re-correct history," he added.

Talking about the importance of Archaeology, Naidu said that it was the responsibility of every citizen of the country to protect and preserve the monuments and pass them on to future generations.

The Vice President called upon the public sector and private sector firms as well as individuals to adopt archaeological sites and take part in the preservation of our great heritage.

"People's participation was essential in strengthening the government's efforts in conservation of important archaeological sites," he said.

The Vice President said that the time has arrived to bring together various academic disciplines such as history, archaeology, anthropology, iconography, epigraphy and sociology to establish a strong correlation of the literature, history and archaeological data for better understanding of the past.

"I am sure that this approach will help us to make a fundamental contribution to the textual and archaeological study of the epics of India", he said.

Pointing out that archaeology helps in discovering not only 'other' civilizations but also in rediscovering our 'own' selves, he stressed the need to create greater awareness about monuments and their importance among the students.

The Vice President urged schools and colleges to organise visits of students to nearby archaeological and historical monuments and encourage them to take part in upkeep activities and cleanliness drives at those monuments.

Naidu appreciated the efforts of NGOs like the Aga Khan Trust who have undertaken the restoration of monuments in few cities and conservation and restoration of the Sri Ranganatha Swamy temple at Srirangam undertaken by the government with the help of donors and said that many similar efforts were needed.