The Union Culture Ministry plans to “revive and relaunch” the National Manuscript Mission (NMM). It is considering the formation of an autonomous body to help preserve ancient texts in India. Currently, the NMM is a part of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts. The new body will likely be named the National Manuscript Authority, which will function as an autonomous unit under the Ministry of Tourism and Culture.
Key Points of the Revived NMM
- National Manuscripts Authority: The Union Ministry of Culture plans to form an autonomous body named National Manuscripts Authority under the Ministry of Culture. Presently, NMM is a part of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts.
- Achievements of NMM: Between 2003-24, metadata of 52 lakh manuscripts have been prepared, over 3 lakh titles have been digitised and one-third of them have been uploaded.
- Concerns: Only about 70,000 of the 1.3 lakh uploaded manuscripts are accessible.
- A significant portion of manuscripts is privately owned, with limited incentive for owners to make them publicly accessible.
Future Roadmap
- Establishment of university chairs abroad in departments focusing on ancient Indian studies.
- Suggestions for involving Intellectual property rights (IPRs) and legal experts to address issues related to the sale of manuscripts abroad and private ownership.
- Emphasis on preserving non-Brahmi and lesser-known scripts.
Manuscripts
- Definition: A manuscript is a handwritten composition created on materials such as paper, bark, cloth, metal, or palm leaf, and it must be at least 75 years old.
- Exclusions: Lithographs and printed volumes are not considered manuscripts.
- Script Variability: Often, one language is represented in multiple scripts. For instance, Sanskrit is written in scripts like Oriya, Grantha, and Devanagari.
- Distinction from Historical Records: Unlike historical records (e.g., epigraphs, firmans, revenue records), which document historical events, manuscripts primarily contain knowledge content.
- Manuscripts provide knowledge on philosophy, science, literature, and art.
- Historical Interest: In the 18th century, the Nawab of Awadh presented an illuminated manuscript of the Padshahnama to King George III of England.
- Hiuen Tsang, a 7th century Chinese traveller, took many manuscripts back to China.
- British Interest: William Jones, C.P. Brown, John Leyden, Colin Mackenzie, Charles Wilkins, H.H. Wilson, and HT Colebrooke played significant roles in studying and preserving Indian manuscripts.
- Early Efforts in Cataloging: Efforts to catalogue Indian manuscripts began as early as 1803 with the efforts of HT Colebrooke, Asiatic Society of Bengal’s fourth president.
Key Facts About NMM
- About: It is an initiative of the Ministry of Culture to preserve and document India’s vast collection of manuscripts.
- It was launched in 2003 to uncover, document, conserve, and make accessible India’s vast manuscript heritage.
- Implementing Bodies: The Department of Culture is responsible for implementing the mission, while the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) serves as the nodal agency.
- Objectives: It is dedicated to conserving manuscripts and disseminating the knowledge contained in them, working toward its motto “conserving the past for the future.”
- Scope and Collection: India possesses an estimate of five million manuscripts, probably the largest collection in the world.
- 70% of manuscripts are in Sanskrit.