Inimical forces projecting India’s cultural diversities as differences: RSS leader Nandakumar

The guests attending the third edition of the colloquium in Guwahati will include Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankar, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan and RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale, according to Prajna Pravah.

Nandakumar, an RSS ideologue and author, responded to reporters’ questions about the “saffronisation” of education in BJP-ruled Karnataka. “It is very disheartening to see that a certain section of our very own academicians are opposing the Bharatiya way of education. When countries like China, Germany and others teach their students of their rich history and culture, what is wrong with India doing the same? We are already 75 years late by ignoring many scientific and scripture-based learnings from our Indian kings. It is up to the students to decide whether what they are being taught is right or wrong,” he said.

The four-day colloquium will celebrate the “loksanskriti” of the Northeast India along with representations of other states, according to Prajna Pravah, which says it welcomes all ethnic groups and communities to bring forth their traditional knowledge embedded in their cultural practices.

On Thursday, Lokmanthan will host northeastern cultural performances such as Sattriya Dance from Assam, Gayan Bayan from Assam, Singi Chaam from Arunachal Pradesh, Thang Ta from Manipur. In addition, there will be performances of Yakshagana and Jogati, a dance form popular in Karnataka. The colloquium will also include various sessions of “integrating lokparampara in faith, science, genealogy writing, agriculture, food, education, story telling, music, art and environment”.

According to the organisers, around 3,200 participants have registered for the event to be held at Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra.