Government is set to “revive and relaunch” the National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM) and which is likely to be named the National Manuscripts Authority, and will be an autonomous entity under the Ministry of Culture.
About NMM
- NMM is a national level comprehensive initiative under the Ministry of Culture to work towards conserving the manuscript heritage of India.
- It covers a variety of themes including scripts, languages and calligraphies, illuminations and illustrations under the project.
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Manuscripts
- Manuscripts are handwritten compositions created on various materials like paper, bark, cloth, metal, and palm leaves, dating back at least 75 years.
- These ancient works hold immense scientific, historical, and aesthetic value.
Distinctiveness of Manuscripts
- Unlike records like epigraphs on rocks, royal firmans, or revenue documents that directly record historical events, manuscripts provide a deeper knowledge content through diverse themes, textures, aesthetics, languages, calligraphy styles, illuminations, and illustrations.
- Manuscripts are crafted with artistic illustrations and often feature rich calligraphy that varies across languages and regions.
- These documents often embody knowledge on topics ranging from mathematics to philosophy, spirituality, and art, preserved over centuries.
- One notable example is the Bakhshali manuscript, an ancient Indian mathematical text written on birch bark. It is recognized as the earliest recorded use of zero, marking a significant contribution to mathematics.
Languages of Indian Manuscripts
- Around 75% of manuscripts are in Sanskrit.
- The remaining 25% exist in regional languages, reflecting India’s diverse linguistic heritage.
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- Establishment: 2003, by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture
- Mandate: Identifying, documenting, conserving, and making accessible India’s manuscript heritage
- Motto: Conserving the past for the future
- Presently, NMM is a part of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts.
Achievements of NMM
- 52 lakh manuscripts have been prepared and roughly over 3 lakh titles have been digitized. However, only one-third of them have been uploaded.
- Over the past 21 years, NMM had undertaken preventive and curative conservation of 9 crore folios.
- The mission has published more than 100 books since its inception, with the list of these publications available in Annexure-I.
- The mission has established over 100 Manuscripts Resource Centres & Manuscripts Conservation Centres
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About National Manuscripts Bill 2023
- Primary Objective: Documenting and cataloging Indian heritage texts worldwide, maintaining accurate information, and specifying consultation conditions.
- It has provision for the establishment of a 10-member National Manuscripts Authority (NMA), chaired by the Culture Minister and including representatives from Culture, Finance, Education, and private agencies.
- The NMA will oversee digitization, conservation, preservation, editing, and publication of manuscripts.
October 26, 2024
