In a landmark move to safeguard and promote India’s centuries-old literary treasures, the Ministry of Culture has announced the country’s first-ever global conference focused entirely on manuscript heritage. Titled ‘Reclaiming India’s Knowledge Legacy Through Manuscript Heritage’, the event will be held from September 11 to 13, 2025, at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. The announcement, fittingly made on Guru Purnima, honors India’s enduring guru–śiṣya tradition and intellectual history.
The event is also timed to commemorate the 132nd anniversary of Swami Vivekananda’s iconic speech at the Parliament of the World’s Religions on September 11, 1893—a historic moment representing India’s global contribution to knowledge and peace.
India houses a remarkable 10 million+ manuscripts, spanning subjects like philosophy, mathematics, science, medicine, rituals, literature, and art. These manuscripts are seen as critical cultural assets and repositories of indigenous wisdom.
The upcoming international gathering is set to attract over 500 attendees, including 75 prominent scholars and experts from across India and the world. Conducted in a hybrid format, the conference will enable broader participation via both physical and virtual channels.
Key thematic tracks will spotlight urgent topics like manuscript conservation, digital preservation, palaeography, AI-driven archival practices, and educational integration. Noteworthy manuscripts—some recognized under UNESCO’s Memory of the World register—will be exhibited. There will also be live conservation demos, workshops, performances, and showcases for startups in manuscript tech and research.
A major deliverable of the conference will be the adoption of the New Delhi Declaration on Manuscript Heritage. To continue the legacy beyond the event, expert working groups will be formed for translation, digitization, conservation, and decipherment.
The Ministry is also launching a new Manuscript Research Partner (MRP) initiative, aimed at training the next generation of scholars through hands-on script labs and practical workshops.
Scholars are invited to submit original research or case studies in either Hindi or English on topics such as manuscript conservation, legal policies, codicology, tech tools, and diplomacy. Abstracts must be sent by August 10, 2025, via the official portal: https://gbm-moc.in. Queries and full papers can be emailed to gbmconference@gmail.com.
