Reported by Bhadra Gogoi
Dimapur: Nagaland’s Art and Culture Department has initiated a statewide manuscript survey under the Gyan Bharatam Mission, a national initiative of the Union Ministry of Culture.
The mission aims to identify, document and create a national database of manuscripts and historically significant records, with a focus on preserving India’s documentary heritage and traditional knowledge systems.
Officials said many valuable manuscripts and records remain scattered across institutions, religious centres, community repositories and private collections, with a large number still undocumented.
In Nagaland, documentary heritage is largely preserved outside formal archival systems. Such materials are commonly found in church archives, missionary records, village institutions, early translations, customary records and private family collections.
The ongoing survey seeks to systematically identify these materials and record their details on a national digital platform.
The department has appealed to institutions, organisations and individuals to share information on manuscripts or old records in their possession.
It clarified that the exercise is limited to documentation and does not involve removal or transfer of materials from their custodians.
The department said public participation is vital to the successful implementation of the mission and to ensuring that Nagaland’s valuable documentary heritage is properly identified, documented, and preserved.