Deepak.YadavChandigarh: In a bid to identify, document, conserve, digitise, preserve, and promote the manuscript heritage of Chandigarh, the UT department of culture has catalogued 9,009 manuscripts across seven higher research and educational institutions and libraries in the city.In the second phase, the department has hired and trained 100 volunteers who have started visiting households to ask residents about manuscripts in their possession for collection and preservation.This initiative follows the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Chandigarh administration’s department of culture and the ministry of culture under Gyan Bharatam, a flagship programme of the Govt of India. The five-year mission aims at providing a national platform to disseminate the cultural and intellectual wealth embedded in Indic manuscripts across diverse scripts, dialects, languages, and traditions, while highlighting their scientific and contemporary relevance.Sources in the administration told TOI: “The ministry has decided to establish a dedicated digital platform named the National Digital Repository (NDR) to share India’s manuscript heritage globally. Manuscripts written by hand on paper, bark, cloth, metal, or palm leaf — typically over 75 years old — will be included. Lithographs and printed volumes are not considered manuscripts under this programme.”The department has also engaged resident welfare associations (RWAs) to spread awareness through networks and WhatsApp groups. Additionally, five camps have been set up in prominent markets — sectors 17, 22, 10, 9, and 8 — with more planned in other markets and universities.Box 1: Manuscripts identified in Chandigarh1: Panjab University’s AC Joshi Library — 1,492 manuscripts — Arabic/Persian/Urdu/Punjabi2: DAV College’s Lal Chand Research Library — 7,300 manuscripts — Sanskrit/Hindi3: TS Central Library — 6 manuscripts — Sanskrit4: Lajpat Rai Bhawan’s Dwarka Das Library — 75 manuscripts — Sanskrit/Urdu5: Govt Museum and Art Gallery — 86 manuscripts — Pahari/Punjabi/Urdu6: Punjab Digital Library — 49 manuscripts — Punjabi/Urdu/Persian7: Sandeep Nischal — 1 manuscript — SanskritTotal — 9,009 manuscriptsBox 2: High-Level Committee for MonitoringSecretary, Culture — ChairmanDeputy Commissioner — MemberJoint Commissioner, MC — MemberDirector, Higher Education — MemberDirector, Technical Education — MemberDirector, Public Relations — MemberRegistrar, Panjab University — MemberDirector, Govt Museum and Art Gallery — Member SecretaryBox 3: Key Terms of MoU (Ministry’s Role)Provide framework, guidance, monitoring, and supportConsider funding, equipment, and allocations case-by-caseFive verticals:1: Survey and Cataloguing2: Conservation and Capacity Building3: Technology and Digitisation4: Linguistics and Translation5: Research, Publication and Outreach
