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“Nationality is formed due to cultural Integration and Unity”: Justice Adarsh Goel
New Delhi:
The book ‘Integration of Bharat: Political and Constitutional Perspective,’ written by Yashraj Singh Bundela, was launched on Thursday at the auditorium of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) in New Delhi. Along with the book launch, a discussion session was also organized. The book is published by Mohan Law House. The Guest of Honour was Shri R. Venkataramani, Attorney General of India and the chief guest at the inauguration and discussion program was former Supreme Court Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel. The program was chaired by the President of IGNCA, Shri Rambahadur Rai. During the discussion session, Shri Jawahar Lal Kaul, Chairman of JSL, Prof. Ramesh Chandra Gaur, HoD Kalanidhi, and Dean (Administration) of IGNCA and the author of the book, Yashraj Singh Bundela, also expressed their views.
During the discussion, the chief guest Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel stated that this book should be presented in Hindi because its title is ‘Integration of Bharat’, which will be translated into Hindi as ‘Bharat ki Ekatmatta’, which better expresses the sentiment of the book. He also cited a verse from the Vishnu Purana: ‘Uttaram yat samudrasya himadreshchaiva dakshinam. Varsham tad bharatam naam bharati yatra santati’ , which states that the land situated to the north of the ocean and to the south of the Himalayas is known as the land of Bharat, and the people residing on this land are called Bharatiya, Justice P. Bhagwati of the Supreme Court quoted this verse in the Pradeep Jain case in 1984. He stated, “It is an interesting fact of history that India did not become a nation due to a common language or continuous existence of the same political rule over its territories, but rather it became a nation due to the shared culture that developed over centuries. This cultural unity, which is more fundamental and permanent than any other bond, is what can unite the people of a country – it has woven this country into a nation.”
R. Venkataramani remarked that being a writer is easy, but being a historian is challenging. He mentioned that history pertains to life, to an individual’s life, and to the life of a nation. He stated that when discussing political and constitutional integration, there is no need for India to have a story of integration because the entire story of India is a story of unity. Renowned journalist Jawaharlal Kaul added that India is not just a political unit, not just an economic system, but a cultural concept.
While presiding over the discussion session, Shri Rambhadur Rai stated that the scope of this book is very extensive. He explained what makes this book unique. It contains the story of Jammu and Kashmir, about which we all now know at least a little. The story culminates with the events of August 5, 2019, in Jammu and Kashmir. This is the miracle of the Indian Constitution, the miracle of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. No one could have imagined that Article 370 would be abolished in India.
At the beginning of the program, Prof. Ramesh Chandra Gaur welcomed all the guests and expressed gratitude towards them. He also presented an introduction to this discussion in front of the audience.
About the book:
Although the title of this book suggests that it is about India’s political and constitutional integration, it is not strictly a history-based book. Instead, it narrates the history of India over millennia. As the name suggests, the book is about India’s journey as a nation, a civilization, a geographical entity, and a perpetual spiritual existence. It begins with philosophical aspects or fundamental ideas or the quest for thought that binds this nation into a fabric. It prompts us to ponder why this country survived for thousands of years even after the most brutal invasions from foreign lands. The reason is that despite all foreign invasions, India’s belief in ‘Ekam Sat Vipra Bahudha Vadanti’ (Truth is one, the wise call it by many names) and ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ (the world is one family) remained intact.
