India News | Union Minister Urges Embrace of Indigenous Wisdom at Animal Taxonomy Summit in Kolkata

Kolkata, Jul 3 (PTI) Union Minister Kirti Vardhan Singh on Thursday advocated the need to allow science to break new ground, but with a mindset rooted in India's soil.

Addressing the valedictory session of the Animal Taxonomy Summit 2025 by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) here, the Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change and External Affairs said, "True intellectual freedom lies in liberating the mind from blindly imitating what is contemporary or borrowed from the West."

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He called for a "renewed embrace of India's indigenous knowledge systems," advocating for a synthesis between nurturing traditional wisdom rooted in our soil and new age learning.

Recalling Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Independence Day speech from last year, Singh said the PM had urged every Indian to adopt the Panch Pran—the five key resolutions for a developed India.

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"Under the dynamic leadership of the Prime Minister, India has emerged as a thought leader in shaping the global biodiversity endeavour," Singh said.

He hailed the scientists of ZSI as "modern sages who are decoding life one species at a time, with quiet dedication and deep insight."

The summit laid emphasis on strengthening scientific research and conservation efforts in the field of animal taxonomy, he observed.

Lauding the 110-year-old ZSI for its extraordinary contribution to the nation's scientific landscape, he said the organisation has, over the years, documented and built an archive of 1,00,000 to 1,05,000 species that inhabit India, an achievement which he described "as a feat worthy of commendation."

He also recalled reflecting on the Indian tradition's reverence for knowledge.

This was the third consecutive edition of the Animal Taxonomy Summit organised by ZSI.

Over three days, the summit brought together more than 500 delegates from five countries, including Ghana, Denmark, the US, and the UK.

Participants engaged in wide-ranging deliberations across three major themes: taxonomy, systematics, and faunal diversity and conservation.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)