Prime Minister Narendra Modi today asked people to be "history conscious" and ensure that historical heritage is passed on to future generations.
"We are not history-conscious people. We belong to a country where every stone has a history but unfortunately today neither there is an audience nor narrators to explain it," he said while releasing two books at Rashtrapati Bhawan.
The two books -- "Selected Speeches of the President - Vol. III" and "The Presidential Retreats of India" -- were released by Modi on the occasion of 80th birthday of President Pranab Mukherjee. He later presented the first copy of the two books to Mukherjee.
"We don't take care our history which we should do," he said, adding "our country has such an illustrated history which has become a stone in itself."
He appreciated the work on these two books and said these works should be handed over to media students as they convey the mood and efforts undertaken in every decision that the government takes.
Complimenting the President on his 80th birthday, he termed him as an ocean of knowledge.
"You talk to him about anything - country, cultural heritage, political personalities, important buildings, he will enlighten you with his knowledge.
"Even if you talk to him about music, he has a vast knowledge on that too," Modi said, adding he felt honoured and privileged that he got an opportunity to work with Mukherjee.
"Our President lives every moment in totality and absorbs the knowledge only for distribution among the people," he said.
"Selected Speeches of the President - Vol. III" is part of a series of volumes containing important speeches of Mukherjee which have been segregated into three themes -- award functions, important days and events and conferences.
These speeches reflect the President's deep understanding and appreciation of the subjects and his vision of where he wants to see the country to be in these sectors.
"The Presidential Retreats of India" has been brought out by Sahapedia under commission from the President's Secretariat and Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA).
This book covers "The Retreat" at Mashobra in Himachal Pradesh and "Rashtrapati Nilayam" at Secunderabad. Both these are 19th century heritage buildings.
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, senior council of ministers and senior BJP leader L K Advani were among those who attended the function.
