NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday claimed that foreign invaders sought to destroy India’s intellectual and Sanatan heritage along with its wealth, citing Mahmud Ghaznavi’s attack on the Somnath temple as an example.“When Mahmud Ghaznavi went to demolish the Somnath temple, the priests told him not to damage the temple or the idol and offered him as much gold and jewellery as he wanted,” PTI quoted Yogi Adityanath as saying. He was addressing a seminar on Indian knowledge tradition at Gorakhnath temple in Gorakhpur.“He (Ghaznavi) said, ‘I have not come merely to loot.’ Whatever I get, I will take away, but my objective is to destroy India’s Sanatan tradition,” he added.The chief minister described the destruction of temples and institutions of learning as part of a “broader attempt” to weaken India’s intellectual heritage, saying the objective was “not only to loot India’s wealth but also to completely capture and destroy India’s intellect.”India was once known as “Vishwaguru” because of its knowledge heritage, rather than its natural resources or material prosperity, Yogi Adityanath stated.“India has the best climate, the most fertile land and abundant water resources. But what was India’s identity in the ancient world? We were called Vishwaguru because of our knowledge tradition. We had a monopoly over this heritage of knowledge.”
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Comparing India’s ancient institutions with those of present-day developed countries, Yogi Adityanath further said their history of prosperity and material achievements was only “400-500 years old,” while India had institutions such as Takshashila around 2,600 years ago and Nalanda around 1,700-1,800 years ago.He cited Kashi, Ujjain and Kanchi as centres of learning and said the Kumbh tradition was not merely about taking a dip at the confluence but also gave saints and scholars an opportunity to meet, discuss research and exchange ideas.India’s knowledge tradition, he added, had survived centuries of foreign rule. “Who is there in India who has linked our festivals and religious traditions to the English calendar? Our auspicious programmes are not determined according to the English date. They are determined according to the Indian calendar and Indian dates.”