Centre to prioritise mapping, repatriation of manuscripts under ‘Gyan Bharatam’ initiative

Repatriation and mapping of Indian manuscripts held overseas took the centre stage at the ongoing Gyan Bharatam International Conference, as Dr Sachchidanand Joshi, eminent scholar and Member Secretary of Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA), emphasised the urgent need to locate and retrieve nearly one million Indian manuscripts currently housed in foreign institutions.

Co-chairing a key session titled ‘Repatriation of Indian Manuscripts – Preserving Heritage, Restoring Identity’ at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, Dr Joshi said, “Repatriation is important, but the first task is to map where these manuscripts actually are.”

He underscored the need to identify, catalogue and secure digitised versions of the estimated ten million Indian manuscripts, including those in countries such as the UK, France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, and institutions like Russia’s Hermitage Museum.

The repatriation agenda is a core component of the recently launched ‘Gyan Bharatam’ initiative by the Ministry of Culture, which aims to preserve, digitise, and disseminate India’s vast manuscript heritage.

Launched on September 10, the three-day international conference (September 11–13) has drawn over 1,100 scholars and experts to shape a roadmap for the mission.

Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat announced plans to revive and strengthen efforts from the earlier National Mission on Manuscripts, including setting up a National Repository and dedicated centers of excellence. “These manuscripts are keys to our civilisational knowledge — from literature and philosophy to mathematics and astronomy,” he said.

Renowned mathematician Prof Manjul Bhargava highlighted the global significance of India’s manuscript tradition, calling it a valuable asset for education and cultural diplomacy.

Culture Secretary Vivek Agarwal termed manuscripts “repositories of knowledge”, urging coordinated national efforts to protect and reclaim this legacy.

Parallel sessions during the conference are focusing on manuscriptology, metadata frameworks, digital preservation technologies and conservation science, laying the technical groundwork for repatriation and heritage management under the Gyan Bharatam Mission.