India, July 11 -- Vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday called for a collective effort to reclaim and nurture the "Indian Knowledge System" (IKS), which he said had endured two major disruptions - the Islamic invasions and British colonisation.

Speaking at the inaugural session of a three-day conference on IKS at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Dhankhar described India not merely as a political entity but as a civilisational continuum rooted in centuries of enquiry, debate, and learning.

"Islamic invasion of India caused the first interlude in the glorious journey of the Bharatiya Vidya Parampara (Indian Knowledge System). Instead of embracing and assimilation, there was contempt and destruction," Dhankhar said.

On a lighter n...