Conference on Dara Shikoh draws experts from 6 countries

An upcoming conference on the spiritual legacy of Mughal Prince Dara Shikoh here will see the participation of eminent scholars, academics and historians from the US, Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and India.

The international conference on "Dara Shikoh: Reclaiming Spiritual Legacy of India", organised by the Indian Council Of Cultural Relations (ICCR), will be held on April 27 and 28 at ICCR's Azad Bhavan here.

The objective of the conference is to present Dara Shikoh's contribution and initiatives in bringing about spiritual homogenisation of Hinduism and Islam and thereby building a cohesive social and cultural edifice of India.

Through his research and study of Vedas and Upanishads, Dara Shikoh concluded that a common spiritual basis existed between Hinduism and Islam which should be comprehended and celebrated.

In his foreword to the monumental work, "Siri-Akbar" (The Great Secret), Dara Shikoh wrote that a great deal of Quranic wisdom existed in Upanishads.

Dara Shikoh documented the Quranic terms and their Sanskrit equivalents from Upanishads. He aspired to build a cultural model for India which, if it prevailed, would have saved South Asia from many tragedies which it faced in the future.

"The study of India begins with the translation of the Upanishads and Dara Shikoh had them translated into Persian. The Europeans at that time did not read Sanskrit and so they read the Upanishads in Persian which were later translated into Latin," ICCR President Lokesh Chandra said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Dara Shikoh is directly responsible and because of him, the whole process of the study of India's culture began," Chandra added.

"We have seen the Mughal courts only as Islamic courts and not seen their Mongol dimensions or the dimension of encouraging Sanskrit. There were Pandits present in all the Mughal courts," he added.

The event by ICCR will also stage a 90-minute theatre production in Hindustani without any intermission, directed by Tripurari Sharma on April 27 at the National School of Drama.

--IANS

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