Vimarsh: ‘Indraprastha - a Capital Journey’, 14 Oct 2019

Welcome Remarks by the Dr Arvind Gupta, Director, VIF

Dear friends,

I welcome you all to today’s Vimarsh panel discussion on the theme of Indraprastha A capital journey. It is a special discussion on a special topic. Delhi has a long history. Its origins lie in the ancient city of Indraprastha, which is mentioned in Mahabharata and established by the Pandavas. This is where Yudhistra was coroneted in the presence of almost 100 Kings whose names are mentioned in the Mahabharata.

I am grateful to Madam Neera Mishra for her help in organizing this event to discuss the journey of Indraprastha which was a capital city and putting together a fantastic panel. Ms Mishra is the Chairperson of the Draupadi Dream Trust since 2003. The trust is engaged with the rehabilitation of Kuldevi temple at Komphillia, the Karam Bhoomi of Draupadi. She is a research scholar with wide interests. One of her aims has been to highlight neglect of Indraprastha in historical writings. Ms Neera Mishra has also been at the forefront of the movement to invest in the archeology of the Indraprastha area. She will talk about her efforts in detail today. This situation must be corrected. Indraprastha, established by the Pandavas, should be recognized as the First city of the current capital city. This is one of the aims of todays panel discussion.

Indraprastha has been documented in ancient text and the document of the Sultanate, Mughal and British period. The name has been mentioned in Mahabharata, the Purana, the tantric works as well as Jain and Buddhist texts. Archeological Survey of India excavations have also indicated the antiquity and continuity of urban settlement found in the Indraprastha area. The story of Purna Quila is fascinating. Purana Quila today is situated where Indraprastha was the old fort or Puran Quila on the bank of Yamuna River is also popularly known as Pandava Quila or Indrapath Quila. Humayun sought to build a citadel over the ancient Indraprastha mound and named it Dinpanah. Later, Sher Shah Suri destroyed Dinpanah and constructed Shergarh which the existing structure.

The proof of historicity of Purana Quila lies in the archeological finds of the place. B. B. Lal, an Indian archaeologist was the Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India from 1968 to 1972. He and Dr. BM Pande, the former Director of the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) in 1996 have been associated with the excavations in Puran Quila in Delhi. A noted archeologist, Dr. Pande has participated in excavations in Kalibangan in Rajasthan, Burzahom in J&K. He also directed excavation at Thaneshar in Haryana. He has also been associated with conservation work on monuments and sites in different states like Rajasthan, Gujarat, J&K, Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh, etc.

Mr. Come Carpentier is known for his work on ancient India. He has written on Mahabharata and also Indraprastha. He is the convener of the International Board of World Affairs Journal. Born in Spain, he has lived in many countries. His work involves research in the area of comparative sociology and philosophy, science and religion, international relation and geopolitics, with a focus on economic and cultural cooperation for developments. He is also associated with the World Public Forum Dialogue of civilization.

The journey of our capital from the days of Indraprastha which is mentioned in the Mahabharata is a fascinating one. We need to raise awareness about it and request the authorities to be more sensitive to this subject

Thank you.