It aims to identify manuscripts nationwide and create a national digital repository on the portal of ‘Gyan Bharatam Mission’ (GBM).
- A manuscript is a handwritten composition on paper, bark, cloth, metal, palm leaf or any other material dating back at least seventy-five years that has significant scientific, historical or aesthetic value.
Significance of mapping manuscripts
- Cultural Revitalization: Manuscripts can preserve cultural diversity, recognize heritage, preserve linguistic diversity and foster India’s global cultural connect.
- E.g. Gilgit manuscripts (oldest manuscript of India) boosting India's Buddhist diplomacy, connecting India with East Asian countries.
- Reviving Indian Knowledge Systems: Manuscripts hold vast repositories of indigenous knowledge such as Ayurveda, Yoga, Scientific Disciplines etc.
- Eg. Bakhshali manuscript (3rd-4th AD) contain the reference to earliest use of zero.
- Curbing Intellectual Piracy: Mapping can prevent smuggling of undocumented manuscripts and exploitation of traditional knowledge systems.
About Gyan Bharatam Mission
- It is a national initiative to preserve, digitise, and disseminate India’s vast manuscript heritage.
- Ministry: Ministry of Culture.
- Type: Central sector scheme.
- Origin: It is a restructured version of National Mission for Manuscripts of 2003.
- Five Pillars: Mapping and recording manuscripts, Conserving manuscripts, Digitizing and protecting manuscripts, Decoding ancient manuscripts, and Studying and sharing knowledge of manuscripts.
Other initiatives taken for preserving manuscripts
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