New Delhi– Vice President Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday said Hinduism is not a religion but a cultural concept of India.
“All the religions preach love, peace and harmony — be it Islam, Christianity or Hinduism…Hinduism though I don’t consider a religion. It is more than that. It is a broader cultural concept of India,” he said at the inauguration of the Sunder Nursery — a new 90 acre city park — near Humayun’s Tomb here.
The Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) commenced conservation and landscape works at Sunder Nursery in 2007, following an MoU with the Central Public Works Department and the Archaeological Survey of India.
The development of this city park is in line with other similar initiatives by The Aga Khan Trust in Kabul, Mali, Zanzibar, Cairo, Hyderabad, Chantilly, amongst others.
Naidu said that private-public partnership became a success in this project that “combines together nature, culture and future”.
He said because The Aga Khan, current Imam of Ismailis, a denomination within Shia Islam, “believes in serving the mankind, he is serving God”.
He also said the development works undertaken by AKTC reflected Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign Swachh Bharat.
The conservation works draw attention to a unique ensemble of 16th century garden tomb.
In 2016, UNESCO extended World Heritage designation to twelve structures conserved by AKTC, including six standing within the Sunder Nursery.
Landscape architect M Shaheer designed this new city park along a central axial spine around which gardens were designed – both formal and informal settings for families to enjoy picnics.
The landscaping of the park includes Delhi’s first arboretum, an amphitheatre, ponds and lakes, nursery beds, a flower showcase, rose gardens and orchards.
Sunder Nursery houses almost 300 tree species, drawing 80 species of birds and 60 species of butterflies.
It continues to have 20 acres of nursery beds managed by the CPWD. (IANS)
