JAMMU: Efforts to preserve and document rare manuscripts in Jammu and Kashmir received a boost with the inauguration of a three-day workshop-cum-training programme on the ‘Gyan Bharatam Mission’ and the launch of the National Survey of Manuscripts at the Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM), Canal Road, Jammu.
The programme was organised by the Department of Archives, Archaeology & Museums in collaboration with the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), Regional Centre J&K.
Principal Secretary, Culture Department, Brij Mohan Sharma, while inaugurating the workshop, highlighted the importance of the Government of India’s flagship initiative aimed at identifying, cataloguing and digitising manuscripts across the country. He said the programme, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September 2025 at an international conference in New Delhi, seeks to document nearly one crore manuscripts and conserve them using scientific techniques, making them accessible to scholars worldwide.
He informed that around 35,000 manuscripts have already been identified in Jammu and Kashmir, with cataloguing completed, while digitisation is currently underway at several institutions, including private repositories and the Persian Department of Kashmir University, with support from a Government of India cluster centre.
Earlier, Director Archives, Archaeology and Museums Kuldeep Krishan Sidha outlined the objectives of the Gyan Bharatam Mission and the National Manuscripts Survey, elaborating on key components such as conservation, capacity building, digitisation, linguistic translation, research, publications and awareness initiatives.
Dr Jahangir Iqbal, Head of Department and Cluster Head of the Gyan Bharatam Mission at the Department of Persian, University of Kashmir, presented the roadmap for conducting manuscript surveys and explained methods for documenting and conserving manuscripts in different regions.
Dr Suresh Abrol, Coordinator of the Regional Cluster Centre, Gyan Bharatam Shashvat Art Gallery, Museum and Manuscript Library, Jammu, encouraged participants to actively contribute to the survey, documentation and digitisation of manuscripts under the mission.
During the workshop, Professor Achal Pandya, Professor and Head (Conservation) at IGNCA, delivered a presentation on the scientific methods of collecting, preserving and conserving manuscripts.
Participants also raised queries regarding various aspects of the survey and conservation process during the interactive sessions.
Among those present were Assistant Professor Dr Satyender Kumari (IGNCA), Project Managers Jitendra Chauhan and Dr Nitin Kumar, Deputy Director Archives, Archaeology and Museums Dr Sangeeta Sharma, along with senior officers of the concerned departments and other stakeholders.
