The National Mission for Manuscripts was established in February 2003, by the Ministry

of Tourism and Culture, Government of India. A unique project in its programme and
mandate, the Mission seeks to unearth and preserve the vast manuscript wealth of
India. India possesses an estimate of ten million manuscripts, probably the largest
collection in the world. These cover a variety of themes, textures and aesthetics, scripts,
languages, calligraphies, illuminations and illustrations.

The Mission has the mandate of identifying, documenting, conserving and making
accessible the manuscript heritage of India. We see a national effort in the form of a
mission for manuscripts as a logical, radical and urgent response to a very
contemporary challenge- of reclaiming the inheritance contained in manuscripts, often
in a poor state of preservation.

National Mission for Manuscripts is a National level comprehensive initiative which

caters to the need of conserving manuscripts and disseminating knowledge contained
therein. NMM is working towards fulfilling its motto, ‘conserving the past for the future’.
It has emerged as a movement, undoubtedly the most popular and effective among all
the heritage conservation initiatives in the country.

National Database of Manuscripts, Kriti Sampada

National Mission for Manuscript's biggest and most ambitious project is to create a
database of all Indian manuscripts in the country and abroad. The National Database of
Manuscripts, Kriti Sampada, is available on the internet through the Mission's website.
We aim to document, as far as possible, each manuscript, whether in a museum, library,
temple, madrassa or a private collection. Institutions like Rampur Raza Library, Rampur
and Khuda Bakhsh Library, Patna are world renowned for their manuscript collections.
Still, thousands of manuscripts lie scattered in unknown collections with individuals and
institutions in remote places. The Mission's biggest objective is to discover and
document such manuscripts for posterity.

The Mission receives data on manuscripts from three different

sources
1. Excellence as heritage

2. Contribution to India’s intellectual history

3. Vulnerability

4. Belonging to ancient or medieval past

In addition to this, some electronic data available with Indira Gandhi National Centre for
the Arts (IGNCA) and National Informatics Centre (NIC) was also transferred to the
Mission's database. We are also in the process of networking with foreign institutions
with collections of Indian manuscripts and hope to start cataloguing these soon.

The Mission has developed a new software (based on IGNCA's electronic format) called
Manus Granthavali. Manus Granthavali is based on Dublin Core Metadata Standards that
are universally accepted.

Information on manuscripts is collected in three formats:

o Manus Data- Each Manus data sheet is used to document a single manuscript. It
includes details like the title, author, scribe and commentator of the manuscript,
the material it is written on, its condition and where it can be found.
Manus Data sheet with instructions
o Questionnaire – Questionnaire form is used to document a collection of
manuscripts in an institution/private collection. It provides an overview of the total
number of manuscripts available in a collection.
Questionnaire form with instructions
o CAT-CAT – The Mission is also compiling a database of all printed catalogues of
Indian manuscripts. So far, more than 2500 catalogues have been documented. At
the moment, its format is being updated and the process of documentation will
resume shortly.
Thus, the electronic database will have information on individual
manuscripts,manuscript collections and printed catalogues.

The documentation unit at the Mission's head office in New Delhi receives data in both
electronic form as well as filled-in data sheets. Before making an entry in the National
Database of Manuscript , data is carefully screened and verified. Individual datasheets
are sorted to remove the ones which do not provide the basic minimum information on a
manuscript. After entering the information in electronic form, it is verified and corrected.
Mission's documentation unit has standardised diacritical marks for Roman and
Arabic/Persian scripts. We have also developed a detailed list of subjects under which
manuscripts can be classified, For instance, Vedanga can be further classifed into
Siksha, Tajwid, Chandas to name a few, and the respective English terms for these being
Vedic literature, phonetics and prosody.

Documentataion
India’s manuscripts are scattered in known and unknown collections across the country.
One of the main programmes of the National Mission for Manuscripts is the first
concerted effort to create and compile a National Database of Indian Manuscripts. As
the most significant contribution of the Mission, it is being compiled with information on
Indian manuscripts in public and private collections that is gathered through different
information collection processes.

When it was established in 2002, one of the challenges before the National Mission for
Manuscripts (NMM) was to collect information about the availability of manuscripts, to
locate manuscripts and to prepare a national database of manuscripts. It seemed to be
challenging considering the fact that unlike developed countries of the West, availability
of manuscripts in India is not limited to organized repositories only. Here manuscripts
are available in libraries, muthas, temples, mosques as well as in households. Therefore,
it is not only the country with largest number of manuscripts but also the largest
number of repositories. From Mizoram to Gujarat and from Leh to Kanyakumari, one
may come across manuscript anywhere. Presumption in this regard is bound to be
proved futile.

After establishment, NMM has formulated a detail plan to face this challenge of locating
and documenting manuscripts. In its first and second phases of existence, emphasis
was given on door to door survey to locate manuscript repositories and detail
documentation through post survey. Simultaneously, under a strategy which is aimed
at far reaching consequences, a network of institutions locating at different corners of
the country has been created. The institutional framework has been worked out to
entrust upon the responsibility of locating and documenting manuscripts to these
institutions. Gradually the network of institutions has stated to shoulder the
responsibility of documentation with more eficiency and accuracy. As a result the
emphasis has shifted and survey and post−survey activities are carried out through
Manuscript Resource Centres or MRCs now. This is a remarkable shift from the policy
followed earlier, though the very seed of the network was sowed just after the
beginning of the Mission. Steps have been taken to strengthen the network and make it
more comprehensive and effective. As a result, a number of almost inactive MRCs have
been rejuvenated and a large number of new MRCs have been established to end the
regional imbalance and give the much needed boost up to data collection.

Most of the manuscript wealth of India has not been documented in a manner to provide
a common portal for reference to aid scholars and researchers. In many instances, there
has been no knowledge of or access to these manuscripts, creating a gap between the
knowledge cultures of the past and present.

NMM is engaged in detailed documentation of manuscripts in India, by creating a

National Catalogue of Manuscripts. This electronic catalogue provides information of
manuscripts from institutions, religious, cultural and educational, as well as private
collections across the country.
 Objectives of documentation
 Location of the unknown manuscript reserves in the country, both in institutional
and private repositories
 Documentation of the entire estimated ten million manuscripts of the country
 Reaching out to the grass root level for gathering information on manuscripts, as
well as spreading awareness
 Creation of the electronic catalogue of manuscripts to be made available on the
Internet
 The main concern for digitization is obtaining digital copy of as many
manuscripts as possible so that the knowledge base can be saved before it is lost
forever. The digital copies will be used for archival as well as dissemination of the
knowledge base. At present NMM is facing the issues with ownership rights which
stays with the Manuscript holders, for which a committee is working on coming
up with a report to be submitted to the Govt. of India. The mission is working
towards making the digital manuscripts contents accessible for the public at
large.
 Pilot project
 The Mission started with digitization of 5 caches of manuscripts as a Pilot project.
In the first phase of the pilot project approximately 39 lakh pages of manuscripts
were selected for digitization. Out of these selected pages about 26 lakhs pages
of 17210 Manuscripts have been digitized. The pilot project was a platform for
testing the best method for digitization to be used. IGNCA (CIL), NIC, CDIT,
INTACH, MSP were the organizations which were involved in the Digitization.
 The details of the digitization done under the Pilot Project
Institution No. Mss digitized till now No. of Pages Rem
Orissa State Museum, Bhubaneswar, Odisha 1,749 3,49,588 Com
Jain Manuscripts, Luknow, U.P. 180 42,951 Com
Kutiattam Manuscripts, Kerala 340 38,260 Com
Oriental Research Library, J&K 10,147 18,24,162 Com
Allama Iqbal Library, J&K 365 97,648 Com
Sri Pratap Singh Library, J&K 74 28,536 Com
Sri Shankardeva Kalakshetra, Assam 2,286 1,58,695 Com
Siddha Manuscripts, Chennai 2,069 78,506 Com
 Second Phase of Digitization
 The Mission has completed digitizing Manuscripts under the second phase of the
digitization project. Under this project around 80000 Manuscripts were targeted
for digitization. The digitization of 79.44 Lakhs pages of 89994 Manuscripts has
 been done in several repositories and all the manuscripts available in their
collection were digitized.
 The details of the digitization done under the Second Phase
Institution No. Mss digitized till now No. of Pages R
Orissa State Museum, Bhubaneswar, Odisha 6,093 14,20,666 C
Krishna Kanta Handique Library, Guwahati, Assam 2,091 1,56,173 C
Dr. Hari Singh Gaur University, Sagar, Madhya Pradesh 1,010 1,17,603 C
Anandashram Sanstha, Pune, Maharashtra 7,939 9,21,667 C
Bharat Itihas Samshodhak Mandal, Pune 4,429 6,60,730 C
French Institute of Pondicherry, Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu 506 1,70,629 C
Institute of Asian Studies, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 481 34,505 C
Kundakunda Jnanapeeth, Indore, Madhya Pradesh 7,506 11,56,373 C
Bhogilal Leherchand Institute of Indology, Delhi 22,907 10,64,900 C
Akhil Bharatiya Sanskrit Parishad, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh 12,887 4,58,376 C
Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, Allahabad 1,545 1,65,220 C
Himachal Academy, Simla, Himachal Pradesh 225 55,751 C
Vrindavan Research Institute, Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh 22,375 15,61,864 C
 Third Phase of Digitization
 NMM completed the IIIrd Phase of Digitization of Manuscripts in several
repositories and collections throughout the country. The tender document for
digitization of Manuscripts under the third phase was published in the website
and the advertisement for the same was published in the leading newspapers
throughout the country. In this phase NMM targeted to digitize one crore pages in
different repositories. The digitization of 80.19 Lakhs pages of 1.02 Lakhs
Manuscripts has been done
 The details of the digitization done under the Third Phase
Institution No. Mss digitized till now No. of Pages R
Bharat Itihas Samshodhak Mandal, Pune, Maharashtra 22,873 14,50,375 Co
Anandashram Samstha, Pune, Maharashtra 6,734 3,27,484 Co
Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Maharashtra 35 22,679 Co
Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh 35,020 25,76,879 Co
Jamia Hamdard 4,200 10,10,273 Co
VVBIS, Hosiarpur 1,500 1,14,376 Co
Institution No. Mss digitized till now No. of Pages R
Orissa State Museum , Bhubaneswar, Odisha 3,175 6,03,142 Co
National Mission for Manuscripts, Delhi 562 1,21,329 Co
Rajasthan Oriental Research Institute, Rajasthan 28,813 17,92,864 Co
 Fourth Phase of Digitization
 NMM started the IVth Phase of Digitization of Manuscripts in several repositories
and collections throughout the country. The tender document for digitization of
Manuscripts under the fourth phase was published in the website and the
advertisement for the same was published in the leading newspapers throughout
the country. In this phase NMM targeted to digitize one crore pages in different
repositories. The digitization work is almost complete in many repositories.
 The details of the digitization done under the Fourth Phase
Institution No. Mss digitized till now No. of Pages Remark
Rajasthan Oriental Research Institute, Bharatpur, Rajasthan 9,151 5,42,235 Complet
Rajasthan Oriental Research Institute, Bikaner, Rajasthan 6,158 3,09,502 Complet
Rajasthan Oriental Research Institute, Kota, Rajasthan 9,716 10,36,252 Complet
Rajasthan Oriental Research Institute, Alwar, Rajasthan 1,957 3,01,639 Complet
Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, Haryana 11,442 7,33,501 Complet
Patna Museum, Patna, Bihar 856 1,71,158 Complet
Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh 16,382 13,32,629 Complet
Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Maharashtra 7,553 10,25,646 Work in
Vadodara Oriental Research Institute, Vadodara, Gujarat 23,254 21,23,055 Work in
 Till now the digitization of 2,61,57,821 pages of 2,96,585 Manuscripts has been
completed.
 New digitization standards were prepared which are to be followed for digitization
in the IIIrd Phase. The standards were made considering the international level of
digitization and the latest technology being followed with contributions from NIC,
New Delhi, CIL, IGNCA and National Archives, New Delhi.
 Digitization of New Catalogus Catalogorum volumes
 The Mission, in collaboration with University of Madras, Chennai is currently
digitizing the existing volumes of New Catalogus Catalogorum (NCC). The project
is expected to be complete by the end of the year. The content will also be made
searchable.
 The ‘ Manuscript Treasures of India '
  The Mission also plans to digitize 45 most valuable and rare manuscripts in the
country which were selected in the Vijnananidhi.
 National Digital Manuscripts Library
 The mission has proposed a project for National Digital Manuscripts Library.
For the first time in history, all the significant literary, artistic, and scientific works
of mankind can be digitally preserved and made easily available for our culture,
research, education, and appreciation and also for all our future generations. The
aim is to setup a Digital Manuscripts Library of India which will foster creativity
and easy access to all human knowledge in the form of Manuscripts of this
country. As a first step in realizing this mission, it is proposed to create the Digital
Manuscripts Library with a searchable collection of many valuable Manuscripts,
predominantly in Indian languages, available at a one place. This digital library
will also become an aggregator of all the knowledge and digital contents created
by other digital library initiatives in India. Very soon we expect that this library
would provide a gateway to Indian Digital Manuscripts Libraries in science, arts,
culture, music, traditional medicine, vedas, tantras and many more disciplines.
The result will be a unique resource accessible to everyone, without regard to
socio-economic background or nationality.
 NMM in collaboration with NIC has developed a user-friendly web application for
entering meta-data online and accessing the Manuscripts details through a
dedicated search engine. The Meta data will be uploaded in the cloud server
along with the digital images to be interlinked for providing easy access to digital
Manuscripts for a wide public to be used for research and study of various
subjects. NMM has developed software taking into account the diversity of
scripts, material on which they are written and subjects to which they refer. Such
software would enable efficient management of data about custodial institutions,
descriptive catalogues, subject directories, preservation status of manuscripts
and for accessing the digital images through the search engine and incorporating
the same in the digital library. It is being planned to set up a state of the art
Digital Manuscript Library at New Delhi with the capacity for 10 users initially (to
be expanded upto 100 users) to facilitate access to this knowledge base. Users
are expected to access data from a Data Centre through desktop PCs. New data
is expected to be added to the storage servers on a daily basis. It is also required
that the Data Centre adhere to international standards of data storage,
redundancy, uptime, and availability.

Publication
Publication of unpublished manuscripts, critical editions of manuscripts, seminar papers,
lectures etc. occupy a position of prime emphasis in the scheme of things undertaken
by the NMM. The NMM has started five primary series –Tattvabodha (lecture papers),
Kritibodha (critical editions), Samikshika (seminar papers), Samrakshika (papers of
seminars on conservation), Prakashika and Kriti Rakshana (Bi-monthly magazine) -
besides other publications. So far NMM has published six volumes under Tattvabodha
series, six volumes under Kritibodha, eleven under Samikshika, two under
Samrakshika and thirty six under Prakashika Series, 27 under Kritit Rakshana and
seven descriptive catalogues.

Criteria and guidelines for the publicationes of unpublished

manucripts through the National Mission for Manuscripts

1. Manuscripts must be old, at least more than 75 years.

2. It has to be an unpublished manuscript.

3. Name of the Work/manuscript text and the subject-matter of the text has to be
mentioned.

4. The applicant scholar should explain the importance of the unpublished

manuscript.

5. The volume of the manuscript has to be mentioned (how many folios etc.)

6. The script and language of the manuscript must be mentioned.

7. The detail of the work, the applicant scholar intends to do –

 Critical edition [Must]

 Transcription
 Translation
 Annotations
 Commentary
 Any other related matter
8. In the case of single copy manuscript, the facsimile copy with detail Introduction
is to be produced.

9. If possible, photocopy of few pages of manuscript can be attached with the

application.

10. The applicant scholar should present his/her educational qualifications and
experience in the field.

11. Once the proposal is received, the mission presents the proposal before its
“Publication Advisory/Expert Committee”. If the Committee approves the project
for publication by the Mission, then the scholar should be informed and an MoU
 will be prepared duly signed by the scholar and the competent authority of the
NMM. The MoU contains all the details of expenditure, honorarium etc.

The Mission bears entire cost incurred by the scholar for the related project as
per the rates approved by the NMM. It includes travel to various institutions for
the project, along with contingency, collation, transcription, translation, Index,
bibliography, Introduction, type-setting, proof reading etc. The complete project
has to be submitted to the NMM and the Mission will print and publish having the
scholar’s name as the Editor and the scholar will get 20 complementary copies.
To promote research and interest in Indian knowledge systems with particular emphasis
on manuscripts, the Mission organises national level seminars. Scholars specialising in
various fields are invited to present research papers which are eventually published by
the Mission under the title Samikshika. The objective is not only to know about the
existing information and practices about manuscripts but also to bring to light relatively
unknown knowledge. The Mission then tires to develop and incorporate these insights
into its activities.

Publication
Publication of unpublished manuscripts, critical editions of manuscripts, seminar papers,
lectures etc. occupy a position of prime emphasis in the scheme of things undertaken
by the NMM. The NMM has started five primary series –Tattvabodha (lecture papers),
Kritibodha (critical editions), Samikshika (seminar papers), Samrakshika (papers of
seminars on conservation), Prakashika and Kriti Rakshana (Bi-monthly magazine) -
besides other publications. So far NMM has published six volumes under Tattvabodha
series, six volumes under Kritibodha, eleven under Samikshika, two under
Samrakshika and thirty six under Prakashika Series, 27 under Kritit Rakshana and
seven descriptive catalogues.

Criteria and guidelines for the publicationes of unpublished

manucripts through the National Mission for Manuscripts

1. Manuscripts must be old, at least more than 75 years.

2. It has to be an unpublished manuscript.

3. Name of the Work/manuscript text and the subject-matter of the text has to be
mentioned.

4. The applicant scholar should explain the importance of the unpublished

manuscript.
 5. The volume of the manuscript has to be mentioned (how many folios etc.)

6. The script and language of the manuscript must be mentioned.

7. The detail of the work, the applicant scholar intends to do –

 Critical edition [Must]

 Transcription
 Translation
 Annotations
 Commentary
 Any other related matter
8. In the case of single copy manuscript, the facsimile copy with detail Introduction
is to be produced.

9. If possible, photocopy of few pages of manuscript can be attached with the

application.

10. The applicant scholar should present his/her educational qualifications and
experience in the field.

11. Once the proposal is received, the mission presents the proposal before its
“Publication Advisory/Expert Committee”. If the Committee approves the project
for publication by the Mission, then the scholar should be informed and an MoU
will be prepared duly signed by the scholar and the competent authority of the
NMM. The MoU contains all the details of expenditure, honorarium etc.

The Mission bears entire cost incurred by the scholar for the related project as
per the rates approved by the NMM. It includes travel to various institutions for
the project, along with contingency, collation, transcription, translation, Index,
bibliography, Introduction, type-setting, proof reading etc. The complete project
has to be submitted to the NMM and the Mission will print and publish having the
scholar’s name as the Editor and the scholar will get 20 complementary copies.