Jammu, September 19 (KNS): Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Saturday unveiled a statue of Acharya Abhinavagupt, launched the new logo of the J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages, released two books and inaugurated a welfare scheme for artists and writers here.

Describing the occasion as the beginning of a cultural renaissance and a reawakening of the soul of Jammu and Kashmir, Sinha said artists and writers were guardians of society's collective memory and had played a vital role in preserving the region's culture and heritage.

The welfare scheme for artists and writers, conceived in 2021-22 and formalised in August 2024, reflects the nation's gratitude towards those preserving collective memory through stories, songs and traditions, he said.

“Artists and writers are not only creators but also guardians of society’s collective memory. They have given words to Jammu and Kashmir’s priceless culture, voice to the emotions of society, and have shouldered the duty of carrying this Union Territory’s heritage to future generations,” Sinha said.

“Therefore, honouring them is nothing less than honouring our own civilization, our own culture, and our own identity,” he added.

Paying tribute to Acharya Abhinavagupt, the LG described him as a philosopher, spiritual practitioner, poet and master of aesthetics whose contributions to Kashmir Shaivism and Pratyabhijna philosophy remained confined to limited scholarly circles for centuries.

Sinha termed the neglect of Abhinavagupt's contributions not merely an academic issue but a “damage to civilizational memory” and called for correcting historical oversights so that the younger generation could access its intellectual heritage.

“The time has now come to correct these historical oversights. This task must be inspired by our commitment to truth, because our youth have the right to know how vast, how ancient, and how connected to the global community is the intellectual depth of the civilization they inherit,” he said.

Highlighting Abhinavagupt's seminal work Tantraloka and his theory of rasa, Sinha said art served as a doorway to inner awakening and reflected the Indian vision in which art, life and the pursuit of truth were inseparable.

The LG congratulated Dr Vaidehi Taman on her book Abhinavagupt: The Voice of Eternal Shiva and Akriti Sharma on Raghunath Temple, Channi Parat: Hidden Heritage of Sunderbani, describing the works as important contributions connecting Jammu and Kashmir's heritage with India's shared civilizational consciousness.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel

He noted that the Raghunath Temple at Channi Parat, begun under Maharaja Gulab Singh and completed under Maharaja Ranbir Singh, represented the region's rich tangible heritage.

“I want the new generation to remember that our ancestors built this nation with their wisdom, with their questions, with their experiences, and with their continuous search for truth,” Sinha said.

“It is our sacred responsibility to ensure that this knowledge does not fade from memory. Our duty is to understand that knowledge, honour it, pass it on to new generations, and preserve it for the times to come,” he added.

Sinha said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, new energy had been infused into Jammu and Kashmir's economic and cultural landscape.

He called upon universities, schools and cultural institutions to introduce young people to thinkers such as Abhinavagupt as living voices relevant to contemporary questions of consciousness and creativity.

The LG also urged greater private and institutional support for research and publishing in the field.

“We must encourage writers like Dr Vaidehi Taman and Ms Akriti Sharma, who, through the difficult and patient work of research, study, and interpretation, can build a bridge between ancient heritage, knowledge, and modern understanding,” he said.

“Such work should not only be a matter of appreciation; it must also receive our active encouragement and institutional support,” Sinha added.

He expressed hope that the two books would reach readers across the country and that the J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages would continue to drive the region's cultural renaissance.

“We must place the historical facts in the right perspective with confidence. We must adopt the same curiosity and the same honest scholarship that characterized our ancestors,” he said.

MLA Jammu West Arvind Gupta, Principal Secretary, Culture Department Brij Mohan Sharma, Director Anti-Corruption Bureau J&K 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 were among those present.

Eminent literary personalities and prominent citizens from different walks of life also attended the ceremony.(KNS)