Full Breakdown
Amit Shah Calls for “Decolonisation” of India’s Historical Knowledge at Asiatic Society Exhibition
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event
On September 13, 2026, Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the “Ganesh Gyanarthi” exhibition at the Asiatic Society of Mumbai. He framed the British colonial period as one in which knowledge was deliberately intertwined with political power and called for a systematic effort to free Indian scholarship from that legacy.
Background & Context
The Asiatic Society of Mumbai, founded in 1804, houses rare manuscripts—including an illustrated Mahabharata, the Jain Kalpasutra, and Buddhist texts. Shah described these holdings as a “reservoir of knowledge” historically presented through a colonial lens, fostering an “inferiority complex” among Indians.
Official Statements & Responses
Shah outlined three concrete actions:
- Institutional outreach – He urged the society’s new committee, chaired by BJP leader Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, to invite scholars from Maharashtra and across India.
- Digitisation and networking – He advocated digitising the Society’s holdings and creating a shared digital platform linking libraries and heritage institutions nationwide.
- Grassroots manuscript survey – He proposed a campaign to locate ancestral documents in villages and homes throughout Maharashtra and integrate them into the Gyan Bharatam National Manuscript Mission.
He also appealed to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for logistical support and reiterated that preserving collective memory is essential for a nation’s survival.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Decolonisation does not mean erasing history. From our perspective, it means presenting historical truth to the world in an authentic manner and from an Indian perspective,” — Amit Shah
- “The new committee that has been formed, it is their responsibility to understand the objectives of the Indian knowledge tradition and take the knowledge that is bound within a building of a few square meters, and spread it across the nation, spread it across the world, and gain acceptance for it,” — Amit Shah
- “Many such things are lying here. The British worked to weave knowledge and power into each other. Our task is to completely detach knowledge and power, so that power is created and built on the foundation of knowledge, and the country functions on that basis. The Asiatic Society must work to build such a system.” — Amit Shah
Data & Statistics
No quantitative data were presented beyond the enumeration of manuscript types and the Society’s founding year (1804).
Why It Matters / Impact
Shah’s vision positions the Asiatic Society as a hub for a nationwide “knowledge network,” aiming to shift Indian historiography from a colonial narrative to one authored in “India’s own voice.” Linking heritage collections and promoting digitisation could broaden access for scholars, students, and the public, potentially reshaping academic discourse and cultural self-perception.