1.8-mn ancient manuscripts go online

TREASURE: Out of the five million Indian manuscripts, 1.8 million have been documented so far.

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New Delhi: The government has created an online database of 1.8 million ancient texts to promote them as treasures of the country and to preserve millions of neglected manuscripts. Out of the five million manuscripts, 1.8 million have been documented.

As the manuscripts were lying neglected, the ministry had set up a National Mission for Manuscripts with the aim to locate them through a nation-wide surveys and then to document and catalogue them.

On the occasion of its fourth anniversary, the mission has planned a host of events, including the launch of the database for which a software was developed. The National Electronic Catalogue of Manuscripts, Kritisampada provides information of individual manuscripts, manuscript collections and printed catalogues.

It will be available to the public, in both Hindi and English, and they could search on the basis of title, author, script, language, subject and material.

Apart from the online database (www.namami.org), the proclamation of 45 selected manuscripts titled as the Vijnananidhi: Manuscript Treasures of India will also be launched.

These manuscripts contains insights and discoveries and have at different times, broken new ground in India's knowledge systems, a cultural ministry official said.