Srinagar: Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Anshul Garg on Sunday inaugurated a three-day Gyan Bharatam Workshop and National Survey of Manuscripts at the Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine in Sanat Nagar, Srinagar.
The workshop is being organised by the Department of Archives, Archaeology and Museums, J&K, with the aim of promoting the identification, preservation, conservation and digitisation of centuries-old manuscripts across Jammu and Kashmir.
Addressing the participants, Garg stressed the need for public participation in safeguarding manuscript heritage. He said the mission follows a “Har Ghar Dastak” approach to reach custodians and ensure documentation of valuable manuscripts.
Highlighting the significance of the initiative, he said the Gyan Bharatam Mission is aimed at preserving and documenting India’s intellectual and cultural legacy.
Director Archives, Archaeology and Museums, Kuldeep Krishan Sidha, said the workshop is intended to sensitise and train District Level Committees in manuscript identification and provide practical training on the use of the Gyan Bharatam Mission mobile application for field surveys.
He said the programme also focuses on creating awareness about the importance of manuscript preservation and digitisation as part of the broader knowledge ecosystem. The app, launched by the Ministry of Culture, is being used to monitor progress of the survey, he added.
Sidha said manuscripts would remain with their custodians, while experts would help assess their nature, category and physical condition. He added that the department would undertake digitisation free of cost and appealed to private collectors to actively participate in the mission.
Dr Jahangir Iqbal, Head of the Department of Persian at the University of Kashmir and Cluster Centre Head of the mission, is the nodal officer for Kashmir.
The workshop is being attended by experts from the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, officers of District Level Committees, private manuscript collectors and officials of the department.
