New Delhi Declaration adopted to save, share vast treasure of manuscripts

Stressing that manuscripts were “not merely relics of the past”, a global conference on Saturday here adopted the New Delhi Declaration to preserve, digitise and share India’s vast manuscript heritage.

 

The Declaration was adopted on the closing day of the three-day 'Gyan Bharatam' conference on India's manuscript heritage, hosted at the Vigyan Bhawan here.

 

The Declaration described manuscripts as the “living memory of a nation, and foundation of its civilisational identity”, stressing that they are “not merely relics of the past, but a guiding light for the future”.

 

India has one of the largest manuscript collections in the world, with nearly 10 million texts that hold centuries of traditional knowledge and cultural heritage. The Declaration also called for acquiring and repatriating original manuscripts, or atleast securing their digital copies, to ensure wider access.

 

 

As part of this effort, the government has launched the Gyan Bharatam Mission under the Ministry of Culture. The initiative aims to survey, document, conserve and digitise more than ten million manuscripts kept in universities, museums, libraries and private collections. 

The declaration also resolved to “awaken people and make the Gyan Bharatam Mission a jan aandolan (people’s movement)”.

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing the conference on Friday, said, “These manuscripts of India contain the footprints of the development journey of entire humanity. There is philosophy as well as science in these manuscripts. They contain medicine as well as metaphysics. There is art, astronomy, and architecture.”

 

“Every country presents its historical things to the world as a civilizational asset and greatness. If the countries of the world have any manuscript, any artifact, they preserve it as a national treasure. And India has such a huge treasure of manuscripts, it is the pride of the country,” he added.

 

Talking about another big challenge that will also be addressed through the Gyan Bharatam Mission, Modi said, “Many important information related to India's traditional knowledge system, which we have been using for centuries, are copied and patented by others. It is also necessary to stop this piracy. These efforts will gain more momentum through digital manuscripts, and intellectual piracy will be curbed. The world will also get to know the original sources with authenticity on all subjects.”

 

(With inputs from PTI)