The Gandhara Resource Center (GRC) Pakistan, grass root project of the Centre for Culture and Development (C2D) has inaugurated its new office at Taxila Gardens to advance its mission of research and heritage exploration of over 3,000 years old human civilizations nestled in the nook and corner of the ancient city of Taxila.
An inauguration ceremony of the new GRC Pakistan office was held here at Taxila Gardens under the auspices of Taxila Chaupal which is a subsidiary of the GRC.
Project Director Taxila Gardens, Naqash Ahmed was the guest of honour, Former Director General of the Agency for Barani Areas Development (ABAD) and Associated with NRSP, Malik Muhammad Fateh Khan and former Sub-divisional Forest Officer, Dr Memoona Wali Muhammad among others participated in the inaugural ceremony. GRC Pakistan Core Committee Member and Director C2D, Sarah Mehmood in her opening remarks welcomed all the guests and participants and briefly explained the vision of the Center. She said GRC Pakistan was known as a C2D project being piloted at Taxila focussed on Gandhara civilization that encompassed a huge area from Afghanistan to Pakistan.“GRC as a pilot project is an effort to kick start a special research to document Taxila’s history,” she added.
Comming the Taxila Gardens authorities, she said the administration helped the GRC team a lot in establishing the project as Naqash Ahmed the Project Director of Taxila Gardens exted his full support in that regard.
“GRC will collaborate with universities like UET and HITECH as MoUs have been signed to introduce Taxila heritage to the youth and encourage them to play their role in its protection,” Sarah Mehmood said. She added that the Centre had also engaged students in research on architectural techniques of over 3,000-year-old civilization which was still intact and surviving the pressures of time.
Buddhism had a great role in Gandhara civilization whereas thousands of tourists come to Taxila every year, she said.
The Centre had a qualified team of experts that possessed diverse backgrounds and linkages to the history of Gandhara.
She ed that Executive Director (ED) C2D Dr Nadeem Omar Tarar had made all the efforts to make GRC Pakistan recognized all around as it had emerged as a brand in Taxila.
Project Manager of GRC Pakistan Malik Aushtar Ali said the ancient Takshala University of Taxila used to accommodate 10,000 students and had 5,000 members of faculty 3,000 years back when the surrounding areas were sunk in oblivion due to ignorance.
He added that the people from Central Asia, Greece, Egypt and Europe in ancient times used to come to study at Taxila University.
The Somnath and other ancient universities of the subcontinent were founded by Taxila University Graduates whereas the Zoroastrian Temple in Jandial was the subcontinent’s oldest temple and older than Azerbaijan’s Towers of Silence, he added.
Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism had spent his last time in this region, Malik Aushtar Ali said.
He mentioned that the artisans wanted to get exposure and export their talent which was the Centre’s mission.
Moreover, the POF WAH also held a training workshop for Artisans of Gandhara whereas the GRC Pakistan in collaboration with UNESCO also held the Gandhara Orange festival to promote the local cultural artifacts and heritage history.
The GRC Pakistan, he said also wanted to promote agricultural products of the region as well. Team member, GRC Pakistan, Iftikhar Ud Din Siddiqui also welcomed all the guests and thanked them for their participation.
