Govt. planning law on protection of Indian manuscripts
- According to the sources in the Ministry of Culture, the government is planning to introduce the National Manuscripts Bill 2023.
Manuscripts
- It is a handwritten composition on paper, bark, cloth, metal, palm leaf or any other material dating back at least 75 years and has significant scientific, historical or aesthetic value.
- Its themes range from history and religion to literature, astrology, and agricultural practice.
- They are found in hundreds of different languages and scripts.
- Often, one language is written in a number of different scripts.
National Manuscripts Bill 2023
- Objective
- To document and catalogue Indian heritage texts wherever they may be, in India or abroad.
- To maintain accurate and up-to-date information about them.
- To detail the conditions under which they may be consulted.
National Manuscripts Authority (NMA)
- The NMM establishes a 10-member National Manuscripts Authority
- Chairperson: The Culture Minister
- Other members
- The Secretaries of Culture, Finance and Education
- The Vice-Chancellor of Central Sanskrit University
- Special invitees representing the States, and private agencies
- It would be the apex policy making body with regard to digitisation, conservation, preservation, editing, and publication work of manuscripts.
Functions and Powers
- It would ensure that the manuscripts are not lost by damage or theft.
- It will also prepare a dedicated digital portal for indexing, cataloguing, uploading and downloading copies of manuscripts.
- It will have the right to take over a manuscript from a private owner based on the uniqueness and the importance of the content.
- It would have the powers of a civil court to regulate the allocation of access to manuscripts.
- It would also have an investigation wing for the purpose of conducting an inquiry into thefts and desecration of texts.
- It can collaborate with universities and other educational institutions or agencies to provide fellowships and scholarships for study of manuscripts.
National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM)
- An autonomous body under the Ministry of Culture, it was launched in 2003
- Objective: Identifying, documenting, conserving and making accessible the manuscript heritage of India.
- According to NMM, India possesses an estimated 10 million manuscripts in 80 ancient scripts like Brahmi, Kushan, Gaudi, Lepcha, and Maithili.
- While 75% of the existing manuscripts are in Sanskrit, 25% are in regional languages.
Prelims Takeaway
- National Manuscripts Bill 2023
- National Mission for Manuscripts
- Manuscripts