Context:
The Union Ministry of Culture is set to “revive and relaunch” the National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM) and is mulling the formation of an autonomous body to help preserve ancient texts in India.
Highlights:
- NMM has ready metadata of 52 lakh manuscripts and has digitized more than 3 lakh titles and published only one-third.
Background on the National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM)
- The Ministry of Culture established the National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM) in 2003 during the 10th Five Year Plan.
- Presently subsuming into Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA).
- National Manuscripts Authority is to be constituted as a new body under the Ministry of Tourism and Culture.
- The NMM will document, conserve, and disseminate into knowledge treasure saved in Indian manuscripts.
- The mission will mine and save under its umbrella an estimated 10 million treasures of manuscript books in India.
- The manuscripts can be broadly described as different texts, weaves, art forms, scripts, languages, calligraphies, and illustrations.
The Aims of NMS are:
- Manuscript Search
- National level survey and grounded post-survey
- Manuscript Documentation
- Developing the world’s largest manuscript database-the National Electronic Database.
- Manuscript Conservation
- By modern and indigenous conservation techniques and training of new generation manuscript conservators.
- Manuscript Studies Promotion
- Scholars are trained in languages and scripts, critical editing, and cataloguing.
- Digitization and Access
- Digitization of rare and endangered manuscripts for far wider public access.
- Public Engagement
- Lecture series, seminars, publications and outreach programs.
- Establishing Manuscript Resource Centres
- More than 100 Manuscript Resource Centres and Manuscript Conservation Centres towards the length and breadth of India.
