The Uttar Pradesh government has directed all districts to begin identifying and documenting manuscripts at the local level, with a plan to digitise and showcase them on a global platform. The exercise is part of the national Gyan Bharatam Mission, an ambitious initiative aimed at reviving and preserving India’s intellectual and cultural heritage.

To ensure effective implementation, the Chief Development Officer in each district has been appointed as the nodal officer for the programme. The mission focuses on systematic identification, scientific preservation, digitisation and archiving of manuscripts and rare texts connected to India’s knowledge traditions.

Officials say the larger objective is to make these invaluable resources accessible to researchers, students and the wider public. Uttar Pradesh holds particular importance in this effort, given its historical role as a centre of ancient knowledge, philosophy, literature and cultural development.

Yashwant Singh Rathore, Deputy Director of Culture in Gorakhpur, said the initiative will involve surveying, cataloguing, preserving and digitising manuscripts and rare documents across districts. The scope includes handwritten texts, palm-leaf and birch-bark manuscripts, and other rare materials preserved in government and private institutions.

These documents may be found in monasteries, temples, educational institutions, private and public libraries, as well as with individual collectors. Once digitised, the manuscripts will be made available to the public through the Gyan Bharatam portal.

The state will also run special outreach campaigns to connect with individuals and institutions that possess such collections and prepare a comprehensive inventory. The drive will cover handwritten texts that are more than 75 years old.

A notable aspect of the mission is that while the government will handle digitisation and digital preservation, the original manuscripts will remain in the custody and ownership of the respective collectors or institutions.