New Delhi, Sep 12 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said many countries around the world house India’s ancient manuscripts and the country will strive to “unify this shared heritage of humanity” under the Gyan Bharatam Mission.
In his address at an international conference on the theme ‘Reclaiming India’s Knowledge Legacy through Manuscript Heritage’ at Vigyan Bhawan here, he said digitisation of India’s ancient manuscripts under this mission will also help curb “intellectual piracy”. He highlighted that numerous elements of India’s traditional knowledge systems, used for centuries, are often copied and patented by others.
Digital manuscripts will accelerate efforts to counter such misuse and help curb “intellectual piracy”, he said.
The government has launched the Gyan Bharatam Mission as a major initiative under the Ministry of Culture. It aims to survey, document, conserve, digitise and make accessible more than one crore manuscripts located at academic institutions, museums, libraries and private collections across India.
“Gyan Bharatam Mission is set to become a proclamation of India’s culture, literature and consciousness,” Modi said in his nearly 30-minute address.
Vigyan Bhavan is becoming a witness on Friday to the resurgence of “India’s golden past”, he asserted.
Modi said viewing manuscripts feels akin to time travel, and described them as “manifestos and declarations of our unity in diversity”.
“In the cruel tides of history, lakhs of manuscripts were destroyed, lost, but the ones that remain show how devoted our ancestors were to knowledge, science and learning,” he said.
He acknowledged the wisdom and research of India’s great sages, acharyas and scholars, underlining India’s knowledge, traditions and scientific heritage, and said these legacies are being digitised through this mission.
India has one of the richest collections of ancient manuscripts in the world, with nearly 10 million texts that hold the country’s traditional knowledge and cultural heritage.
He said Indian manuscripts exist in nearly 80 languages across the country, including in Sanskrit, Prakrit, Assamese, Bengali and Kannada, and highlighted that the Gilgit manuscripts provide authentic historical insights into Kashmir, while the manuscript of Kautilya’s Arthashastra reveals India’s deep understanding of political science and economics.
Before his address, he visited the exhibition hosted at the venue, showcasing centuries-old and rarest of the rare manuscripts of Kautilya’s Arthashashtra and Sundar Kanda of Valmiki Ramayana, both on palm leaves, as well as the Gilgit Lotus Sutra manuscripts, which he said provide authentic historical insights into Kashmir.
Modi said Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang, after his visit to India, had carried back hundreds of manuscripts and many Indian manuscripts reached Japan via China.
Highlighting that in the 7th century, these manuscripts were preserved in Japan’s Horyu-ji Monastery as a “national capital”, the prime minister said even today, “many countries around the world house India’s ancient manuscripts”.
Under the Gyan Bharatam Mission, India will also strive to “unify this shared heritage of humanity”, he said.
Modi recalled that during its presidency of the G20, India initiated such efforts as part of the cultural dialogue of the grouping in 2023, and said countries with centuries-old cultural ties with India are being “actively engaged” in this mission.
The three-day conference that began on September 11 aims to build an “alliance of all custodians” of old manuscripts in India and eventually create a countrywide ecosystem for their preservation and knowledge dissemination under the aegis of the Gyan Bharatam project.
In his address, he also made references to the repatriation of ancient Indian artefacts from abroad.
“Earlier, only a few stolen Indian idols were returned. But now, hundreds of ancient idols are being repatriated,” Modi said.
Today, India has generated this “trust in the world”, people think this is the “right place” to safeguard and honour cultural heritage, he added.
He emphasised that these are being returned not because a decision is being made by those countries after seeing someone’s stature but because they are assured that these artefacts will be given into such hands that will endeavour to “enhance their pride”.
Modi underlined that India’s knowledge tradition remains rich to this day because it is built on four foundational pillars of preservation, innovation, addition and adaptation.
“Unlike modern notions of nationhood, India possesses a distinct cultural identity, its own consciousness, and its own soul,” and its “history is not merely a record of victories and defeats of dynasties”, Modi said.
He said India is a living stream, shaped by its thoughts, ideals and values, and India’s ancient manuscripts “reflect the continuous flow of this civilisational journey”.
Modi pitched for greater use of advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, saying with the help of AI, ancient manuscripts can be understood in greater depth and analysed more comprehensively.
The AI can also assist in presenting the knowledge contained in these manuscripts to the world in an “authentic and impactful manner”, he said.
He also launched the ‘Gyan Bharatam’ portal, a dedicated digital repository platform that seeks to accelerate digitisation and preservation of ancient Indian manuscripts and enhance the dissemination of traditional knowledge embedded in them, on the occasion. PTI KND KR KSS KSS
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