New Delhi 'Gyan Bharatam' Declaration adopted to preserve, disseminate 'vast treasure' of manuscripts

Vigyan Bhawan, Delhi

Emphasising that manuscripts are "not merely relics of the past, but a guiding light for the future", a global conference on Saturday adopted the New Delhi Declaration to strengthen efforts to preserve, digitise and share the knowledge contained in them.

The declaration was passed on the concluding day of the three-day 'Gyan Bharatam' conference on India's manuscript heritage, held at Vigyan Bhawan in Delhi.

According to the New Delhi Declaration, manuscripts are the "living memory of a nation, and foundation of its civilisational identity".

India is home to one of the world’s largest repositories of ancient manuscripts, with nearly 10 million texts preserving traditional knowledge and cultural heritage.

The declaration also committed to efforts to "acquire and repatriate original manuscripts or secure their digital copies".

"We resolve to preserve, digitise and disseminate this vast treasure. We firmly believe manuscripts are not merely relics of the past, but a guiding light for the future," it stated.

As part of this effort, the government has launched the Gyan Bharatam Mission, a major initiative under the Ministry of Culture. The mission seeks to survey, document, conserve, digitise and provide access to more than one crore manuscripts housed in academic institutions, museums, libraries and private collections across India.

The declaration further pledged to "awaken people and make the Gyan Bharatam mission a 'jan aandolan'."

With inputs from PTI