India stands as the bedrock of human civilization. This fact has been attested to by numerous textual, scriptural, archaeological, epigraphical, scientific, and allied evidence. It prides itself as the bearer of the longest continuing culture known to humanity, and only continues to rejuvenate itself with the tides of time. The people and their expressions in the form of languages, literature, philosophy, music, dance, festivals, the arts, and the sciences blossomed in this land and were nourished in a thriving environment of continued excellence. Bharata has also generously shared its spiritual and material bounties to sustain humanity, much in line with the Upanishadic ideal of ईशा वास्यं इदं सर्वं the plenitude (bhoga) was selflessly shared (tyaga) across the geographical confines to nurture the rise of subsequent civilization in distant lands. Multidisciplinary research data of late, such as the excavation of the grand temple near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which may come as a surprise to all but
those who are familiar with Indic history, is illuminating the global understanding of Bharat. It is time that the world recovers its history and humanity recovers its heritage if conflicts of differences are to be overcome. An international conference on India, marking the 75th year of its independence, is only a befitting tribute to the nation which Mark Twain described as, “The cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grandmother of tradition.” This Three-day International Conference – Bharatvarsh: The Cradle of Civilization serves to provide a platform to global scholars and researchers across multiple disciplines to come together and share their research and knowledge to generate greater awareness while advancing the understanding of India for academia, global citizens, policy makers, and governments.
