JAMMU, SEPT 19: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha unveiled the statue of renowned philosopher, spiritual practitioner, poet and aesthete Acharya Abhinavagupt in Jammu, while also launching the new logo of the J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages (JKAACL), inaugurating a welfare scheme for artists and writers and releasing two books.
Addressing the gathering, Sinha described the occasion as an important step towards reviving Jammu and Kashmir’s civilizational and intellectual heritage, calling for greater efforts to reconnect younger generations with the region’s rich traditions of philosophy, art and literature.
Speaking about the artists’ and writers’ welfare scheme, the Lieutenant Governor said it was conceived during 2021–22 and formalised in August 2024. He said artists and writers have played a vital role in preserving traditions, stories, songs and the collective memory of society.
Paying tribute to Acharya Abhinavagupt, Sinha highlighted his contributions to Kashmir Shaivism, Pratyabhijna philosophy, aesthetics and literature, and called for making his works accessible to students and young people through universities, schools and cultural institutions.
“The time has now come to correct these historical oversights,” the Lieutenant Governor said, stressing that the younger generation should know the depth and antiquity of the intellectual traditions they inherit.
Referring to Abhinavagupt’s Tantraloka and his theory of rasa, Sinha said art could serve as a doorway to inner awakening and emphasised the close relationship between art, life and the pursuit of truth in Indian thought.
The Lieutenant Governor also released Dr. Vaidehi Taman’s Abhinavagupt: The Voice of Eternal Shiva and Akriti Sharma’s Raghunath Temple, Channi Parat: Hidden Heritage of Sunderbani, describing the publications as efforts to connect Jammu and Kashmir’s heritage with wider civilizational consciousness.
Sinha urged universities, schools and cultural institutions to promote research and scholarship on the region’s intellectual heritage and called for greater institutional and private support for research, publishing and cultural preservation.
He also highlighted the importance of preserving historical knowledge and transmitting it to future generations, saying society’s responsibility was not merely to remember its heritage but to understand, honour and preserve it.
The programme was attended by MLA Jammu West Arvind Gupta, Principal Secretary Culture Brij Mohan Sharma, Director Anti-Corruption Bureau Shakti Kumar Pathak, Divisional Commissioner Jammu Ramesh Kumar, IGP Jammu Tejinder Singh, Deputy Commissioner Jammu Dr Rakesh Minhas, Regional Director IGNCA Shruti Awasthi and Secretary JKAACL Harvinder Kour, besides literary personalities and prominent citizens.
The unveiling of the statue, launch of the JKAACL logo, release of the two books and inauguration of the welfare scheme marked a major cultural programme focused on heritage preservation, intellectual scholarship and support for artists and writers in Jammu and Kashmir.
