India to host global conference on manuscripts, 10 mn domestic manuscripts in focus
India will host a global conference on manuscript heritage with 10 million national manuscripts in focus in September.
The Ministry of Culture on Guru Purnima today announced the conference entitled ‘Reclaiming India’s Knowledge Legacy Through Manuscript Heritage’ will be held from September 11 to 13 at Bharat Mandapam here.
The event is being timed to commemorate Swami Vivekananda’s historic address at the Parliament of the World’s Religions on September 11, 1893.
The conference will be attended by renowned scholars, thought leaders and cultural custodians from around the world. Designed in a hybrid format, it will facilitate in-person and virtual engagement, ensuring broad national and international involvement.
Officials said that India holds an unparalleled treasure of more than 10 million manuscripts covering philosophy, science, medicine, mathematics, literature, rituals and the arts.
“These manuscripts are far more than historical records; they represent the living essence of Bhāratīya Jñāna Paramparā — Indian Knowledge Systems — and serve as a vital link in preserving the rich and continuous flow of India’s intellectual and cultural heritage. Over the course of three days, the conference will bring together more than 500 delegates, including 75 eminent scholars and cultural custodians from India and abroad. Thematic sessions will explore a range of concerns from conservation, digitization and metadata standards to palaeographic studies, AI-integrated archival practices, ethical custodianship and curricular integration of manuscript knowledge," Indira Gandhi Centre for National Arts, which will co-convene the event with Culture Ministry, said today in a statement.
Among side events at the conference will be exhibitions of rare manuscripts (some inscribed in the UNESCO Memory of the World register), live demonstrations of conservation techniques, workshops, cultural performances and dedicated spaces for manuscript-focused startups.
“Among significant outcomes envisaged is the adoption of the New Delhi Declaration on Manuscript Heritage, the formation of expert working groups for decipherment, conservation, translation and digital archiving, and long-term institutional linkages for national and international collaboration. The Manuscript Research Partner (MRP) programme will also be introduced to engage young scholars through hands-on training, script labs and digital content development," said IGNCA.
The international conference is poised to not only rejuvenate India’s manuscript legacy, but also catalyse a larger civilisational movement reconnecting generations with the wisdom embedded in ancient texts and positioning India once again as a global thought leader in knowledge traditions.
Ministry calls for research papers
The organisers today invited original research papers and case studies in Hindi or English on themes of conservation, codicology, legal frameworks, education, cultural diplomacy and technological innovations in manuscript studies. Abstracts must be submitted by August 10 through the official conference website: https://gbm-moc.in. IGNCA said that full papers and queries may be sent to the conference email: gbmconference@gmail.com
What are manuscripts?
A manuscript is a handwritten composition on paper, bark, cloth, metal, palm leaf or any other material dating back at least seventy-five years that has significant scientific, historical or aesthetic value. Lithographs and printed volumes are not manuscripts. Manuscripts are found in hundreds of different languages and scripts. Often, one language is written in a number of different scripts. For example, Sanskrit is written in Oriya script, Grantha script, Devanagari script and many other scripts. Manuscripts are distinct from historical records such as epigraphs on rocks, firmans, revenue records which provide direct information on events or processes in history.
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