Context:
Union Ministry of Culture is set to revive and relaunch the National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM).
National Mission for Manuscripts:
- Launched in 2003 by the Ministry of Culture.
- Implementing Bodies – Currently a part of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts.
- It is to be placed under a new body, likely to be named the National Manuscripts Authority
- This will be an autonomous entity under the Ministry of Culture
- Objectives – Conserving manuscripts and disseminating the knowledge contained in them.
- Scope and Collection – India has an estimated 5 million manuscripts, with 70% in Sanskrit.
Manuscripts:
- Handwritten compositions on materials like paper, bark, cloth, metal, or palm leaf, at least 75 years old.
- Exclusions – Lithographs and printed volumes are not considered manuscripts.
- Distinction from Historical Records – Manuscripts contain knowledge content, unlike historical records which document events.
- Historical significance –
- Nawab of Awadh presented an illuminated manuscript of the Padshahnama to King George III of England in the 18th century.
- Hiuen Tsang – 7th century Chinese traveller took many manuscripts back to China.
- British scholars like William Jones, Colin Mackenzie, and HT Colebrooke contributed to the study and preservation of Indian manuscripts.
- Early cataloguing efforts began in 1803 with HT Colebrooke, who served as the President of Asiatic Society of Bengal.
Source: The Hindu
Previous Year Question
Who among the following Mughal Emperors shifted emphasis from illustrated manuscripts to the album and individual portraits?
[UPSC Civil Service Exam – 2019 Prelims]
(a) Humayun
(b) Akbar
(c) Jahangir
(d) Shah Jahan
Answer: (c)
