By Our Staff Reporter
DEHRADUN, 1 Feb: Vice-Chancellor of Uttarakhand Sanskrit University, Dinesh Chandra Shastri, presented a progress report on the research work being conducted under the “One University-One Research” initiative at Raj Bhawan before Governor Lt Gen Gurmit Singh (Retd). The research being carried out by Uttarakhand Sanskrit University focuses on the topic “Restoration of Culture and Indian Knowledge Systems: In the Context of Uttarakhand.”
Shastri provided detailed information on the objectives and key findings of the research. He emphasized the need to increase public awareness of the Indian knowledge systems and culture. The research clarifies the distinction between pilgrimage and tourism, pointing out that the lack of awareness about this difference is negatively impacting the sanctity of sacred pilgrimage sites, leading to environmental, social, and natural issues.
He also mentioned that the common belief in Uttarakhand is that there are only five “Prayags” (confluences), but the in-depth study of ancient scriptures reveals the existence of more Prayags in the region. Shastri suggested that if these additional Prayags are promoted based on ancient scriptures, it would strengthen the cultural and religious identity of Uttarakhand, boosting pilgrimage tourism and economic activities.
The Governor extended his best wishes to the researchers for this important study and said that it would help in spreading awareness of our ancient knowledge systems and culture. He also directed the university to prepare a brief report on this research so that its final conclusions can be disseminated widely.
Present at the occasion were the Governor’s Secretary Ravinath Raman, Additional Secretary Swati S Bhadoria, and from the university, Research Investigators Vinay Sethi, and Umesh Shukla.
