Chandigarh, May 25:- Haryana has uploaded a total of 27,587 manuscripts under the 'Gyan Bharatam Mission' so far. This is a major step towards preserving the rich intellectual, cultural and documentary heritage of the state.
Reviewing the progress of the National Manuscript Survey, Chief Secretary Shri Anurag Rastogi said that preservation of manuscripts is not just limited to archiving, but it is an important effort to preserve centuries-old knowledge, traditions and cultural values ??for the coming generations. He said that such an initiative will not only preserve India's rich intellectual heritage but also make it more accessible to researchers and scholars.
During the review meeting, the Chief Secretary reviewed the ongoing survey work in various districts and directed all the departments to further intensify the efforts for public awareness and documentation. He said that better coordination between government departments, educational institutions and district administration is necessary to ensure comprehensive documentation of the valuable manuscripts available in the state.
It was informed in the meeting that the Archives Department has been designated as the nodal department of the state for the implementation of the National Manuscript Survey. A state-level standing committee has been constituted under the leadership of the Chief Secretary for the effective implementation and monitoring of this initiative. Apart from this, district-level committees and nodal officers have also been appointed in all the districts to run the survey process smoothly.
Commissioner and Secretary, Archives Department Dr. Saket Kumar said that continuous monitoring and coordination is being done at the district level to ensure the progress of the survey. He said that this initiative will help in creating a comprehensive digital repository, which will help in preserving the country's knowledge tradition and making it accessible to researchers, scholars and future generations across the world.
Performing best among the districts, Kurukshetra has so far uploaded 15,818 manuscripts on the 'Gyan Bharatam' portal. For this, the Chief Secretary appreciated the district administration and appealed to other districts to speed up the process of survey and documentation.
The Chief Secretary also reviewed the awareness campaigns being run by the Archives Department. Under these campaigns, people are being motivated to identify and document manuscripts through print and social media.
It is worth mentioning that the objective of the 'Gyan Bharatam Mission' launched by the Union Ministry of Culture is to survey, document, preserve, digitize and disseminate the manuscript heritage of the country. For this, cooperation of educational institutions, museums, libraries and private collectors is being sought.
The meeting was attended by Director of Archives Department Dr. Balpreet Singh and Deputy Director Mrs. Manju Yadav along with other senior officials.