India to host international manuscript heritage conference in September
The three-day conference, titled 'Reclaiming India's Knowledge Legacy Through Manuscript Heritage', is being organised from September 11-13 in the national capital as part of the launch of the 'Gyan Bharatam Mission'.
The conference will also commemorate Swami Vivekananda's Chicago address (September 11, 1893), symbolising India's intellectual and spiritual global vision, official sources said.
The Centre had announced the 'Gyan Bharatam Mission' (GBM) in the Union Budget 2025–26, for reviving and expanding the vision of the National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM) launched in 2003. The GBM seeks to preserve, digitise, and disseminate manuscript knowledge, integrate it with modern technologies, and foster a new generation of scholars and institutions to carry the legacy forward.
The conference will be graced by various eminent dignitaries of India, and will feature keynotes and participation by global scholars, thought leaders, and cultural custodians.
There will also be numerous side events like an exhibition on Indian Manuscripts and Script Heritage, an exhibition of manuscripts inscribed in the UNESCO Memory of the World, live demonstrations of conservation and digitisation tools, along with hands-on workshops and a special space for startups in the field.
The Union Culture Ministry has also invited original research papers, case studies, and conceptual frameworks to be presented on themes like, Conservation and Restoration of Manuscripts, Survey, Documentation, and Metadata Standards, Digitisation Tools, Platforms, and Protocols (HTR, AI, IIIF), Paleography, Codicology, and Script Training Initiatives and Legal and Ethical Aspects of Manuscript Custodianship.
India possesses one of the richest manuscript heritages in the world, with an estimated 10 million ancient manuscripts. These span subjects like philosophy, science, medicine, literature, Vedic rituals, mathematics, astrology, vāstu, Sanskriti, and Indian arts and darśana — often in multiple scripts and languages and housed in institutions like temples, mathas, monasteries, Jaina Bhandāras, archives, libraries, and private collections, according to the Brochure for the event.
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NISAR can address many ecosystem applications, including annual carbon accounting and mapping and characterization of wildlife habitats, wetlands, land use, agriculture, water availability, and wild-land disturbance. A core benefit of spaceborne SAR data is its active remote sensing capability in cloud-covered conditions, independent of solar illumination. Hydrology and subsurface reservoir applications of NISAR include measuring ground surface subsidence and rebound to within centimetre accuracy, as well as mapping soil moisture, surface water, snow, and deformation associated with water and hydrocarbon withdrawal, wastewater injection, and carbon sequestration. Determining the timing of snow-off conditions is important for agencies to identify the start of the fire season. 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The benefit of NISAR for critical infrastructure monitoring derives primarily from the 12-day temporal repeat, the near-complete land imaging, and the day/night observation capability. Such information from across the LoC and LAC would be a tactically useful addition. It will be interesting to monitor glacier melting and water flows from across the Himalayas as these are lifelines for India and also have strategic connotations. ISRO Earth observation missions are highly focused on applications of practical and quantifiable benefit to society, whether it is routine monitoring or rapid response. ISRO's Utilisation Programme goals are ready with applications for utilisation of the data from the mission with the intent of achieving operational outcomes. Lastly, and most importantly, the mission will give Indian planners, the scientific community, end-users, and other stakeholders a wealth of experience and data. The writer is former Director General, Centre for Air Power Studies. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views.
