The Government proposes to host the first-ever international Manuscript Heritage Conference titled ‘Reclaiming India’s Knowledge Legacy Through Manuscript Heritage’ in September 2025. This event is planned to commemorate the 132nd Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda's historic address at the Parliament of the World's Religions held in Chicago on September 11, 1893.

 

The conference aims to bring together scholars, historians, manuscript experts, and cultural practitioners from across the world to explore, preserve, and promote India’s vast and diverse Manuscript Heritage. Key themes and focus areas of the conference include:

 

1. Decipherment of Ancient Scripts: Indus, Gilgit and Sankha
2. Survey, Documentation, Metadata Standards and Digital Archiving
3. Manuscriptology and Paleography, Codicology
4. Digitization Tools, Platforms, and Protocols (HTR, AI, IIIF)
5. Conservation and Restoration of Manuscripts
6. Decoding Manuscripts: Pathways to the Indian Knowledge System
7. Manuscripts as Tools of Cultural Diplomacy
8. Legal and Ethical Frameworks for Manuscript Preservation and Access

 

The Government has taken several measures to preserve and promote India’s rich manuscript heritage. Such as:

 

1. Establishing and supporting institutions like the ‘Gyan Bharatam’ that works towards the Documentation, Conservation, Digitization, and Publication of rare and Unpublished Manuscripts across the country.
2. Organizing seminars, workshops, and conferences to raise awareness about the importance of manuscript heritage and to encourage research and collaboration.

2. Supporting regional and local efforts to document and preserve manuscripts in various languages and scripts.
3. National and International MoUs with Vietnam, Thailand, and Japan

These initiatives aim to safeguard India’s invaluable manuscript legacy and ensure it continues to contribute to the nation’s cultural and intellectual heritage.

Since 2003, a total of 3.50 lakh Manuscripts has been digitized. There are 92 Manuscript Conservation Centres established so far, of which 42 are presently active. Additionally, there are 93 Manuscript Resource Centres, with 37 currently active.

This information was given by Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

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Sunil Kumar Tiwari

pibculture[at]gmail[dot]com

(Release ID: 2155153)