Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Saturday inaugurated the two-day Kashmir Literature Festival-2026 at SKICC Srinagar, saying writers, poets and scholars play a greater role in shaping civilizations than institutions, and calling on India's literary community to reclaim the country's true historical narrative and break free from the colonial mindset.
Addressing writers, historians and academicians at the inaugural session, Sinha said India's literary world had not fully realised the depth of the country's civilizational heritage, comparing it to Hanuman before realising his own strength. He said India laid the foundations of mathematics, science and astronomy that influenced civilizations worldwide, but that colonialism damaged confidence in these traditions and allowed distorted narratives to emerge.
The LG said one of modern India's greatest failures was not writing and preserving its own history correctly. He urged scholars and researchers to take authentic history to local readers and future generations, and said digital platforms offered new opportunities to build positive narratives globally. He expressed confidence that India would achieve its vision of a developed nation by 2047.
"Writers are greater than nations because they shape the thinking and direction of societies and civilizations," he said.
