Following its own culture and language will make India a powerful nation: Koenraad Elst

By Arnab Mitra

New Delhi, Feb 6,2016: "The only way India can be a powerful nation of the 21st century is to follow her own culture and not be an Anglo-Indian", said Belgium philosopher Dr Koenraad Elst in a seminar titled 'Vedic Religion and Buddhism' organized by Wider Association for Vedic Studies (WAVES) and Human Advancement Institute in New Delhi on Saturday.

Elst referring to countries like Russia, China, France and Japan, said India must also follow its own culture to become a powerful nation.

He said, "language and culture is like a mother of any race and she cannot be compared with the mother-in-law, so the the original culture cannot be substituted with a foreign one. Indians will have the subservient attitude if the system remains same."

He recalled that before Muslim rulers invaded India it was propagated that "Hinduism is the problem and Buddhism is the solution". However, he further noted that with Islamic rulers, Islam took the place of Buddhism.

But the true story is Hinduism is much a large concept, claimed Elst, adding that there was a time when every tribe and pagan Indian was considered a Hindu. Even at the initial level the Buddhists were Hindus, he mentioned.

So Indians, by definition are Hindus and the Sikhs, Buddhists and any other religion in India have originated from Hinduism except Islam and Christianity, said Elst.

"In India, every language whether it is Bengali or Oria, all originated from Vedic Sanskrit and it is a very vague concept that vernacular language cannot be implemented in a diverse country like India which has a plethora of cultures," said the philosopher.

The dialect changes with every 10 kms in most big countries but only in India it is noted that the culture and language take a backseat when they are replaced, he regretted.