PM Modi says India's cultural heritage is winning global recognition

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has highlighted the expanding global recognition of India's civilisational legacy, stating that the nation's arts, traditions, and ideas are forging deeper connections across the world than ever before.

In a message to the Brihattar Bharat international conference in New Delhi, the Prime Minister observed that Indian music, dance, cinema, and cuisine continue to build enduring bridges with societies across continents. Alongside this popular reach, he noted that formal international appreciation for the country's historic contributions is steadily rising, backed by deliberate state efforts to safeguard its past.

Momentum in recovering lost antiquities

A central focus of the government's cultural diplomacy has been the restitution of historic treasures taken out of the country over past decades. The Prime Minister affirmed that efforts to bring back antiquities from abroad have gained what he described as "renewed momentum". Scores of illicitly trafficked idols, sculptures, and artefacts have been tracked down and repatriated in recent years through high-level diplomatic engagements and bilateral cooperation agreements.

At home, conservation work has expanded beyond conventional physical monuments to encompass the nation's intellectual records. The Prime Minister pointed to the Gyan Bharatam initiative, a targeted government programme dedicated to surveying, preserving, and cataloguing India's vast manuscript heritage, ensuring that ancient knowledge systems remain accessible to scholars worldwide.

Centenary of the Greater India Society

The Prime Minister's written message was read out at the inaugural session by Union Culture Secretary Vivek Aggarwal at Vigyan Bhawan. Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat attended the opening, joining a gathering of foreign ambassadors, academic scholars, and cultural delegates.

Organised by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), which operates under the Union Ministry of Culture, the three-day conference runs from 14 to 16 October. Titled Brihattar Bharat: International Conference on Bharat's Cultural Connections Across the Globe, the event convenes international specialists to examine both historical trade and intellectual routes, as well as modern avenues of cultural exchange.

The gathering also marks a major historical milestone: the centenary of the Greater India Society, also established as the Brihattar Bharat Parishad. Founded in Calcutta on 14 October 1926 by a collective of prominent Indian historians and thinkers, the society had Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore as its spiritual guide, studying the extensive footprint of Indian philosophy, architecture, and language across Asia.

Strengthening cultural diplomacy

Addressing the assembled delegates, participants emphasised that India's civilisational reach has always relied on dialogue, shared learning, and peaceful integration rather than conquest. By combining active heritage recovery with modern preservation methods such as the Gyan Bharatam mission, the government is seeking to firmly position the nation's historical identity at the core of its contemporary international diplomacy.