In a landmark initiative to reclaim and revitalise India’s ancient civilisational wisdom, the Ministry of Culture has announced the country’s first-ever international conference on manuscript heritage. Titled “Reclaiming India’s Knowledge Legacy Through Manuscript Heritage,” this global meet will take place from 11 to 13 September 2025 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.
The event promises to be a turning point, not just for India’s cultural diplomacy, but also for the revival of Sanatana Dharma’s intellectual ecosystem, which for centuries has lived through meticulously preserved manuscripts.
What the conference aims to achieve
According to official statements and multiple reports (and government releases), this three-day conclave will bring together over 500 delegates, with 75 scholars and cultural experts from India and across the world. It will be hosted in a hybrid format to encourage participation both in-person and virtually.
India possesses over 10 million manuscripts, spread across Sanskrit, Tamil, Prakrit, Pali, Persian, Arabic and countless regional languages. They cover vast fields such as philosophy, mathematics, Ayurveda, ritual science, temple architecture, music, and literature, forming what is collectively known as Bhāratīya Jñāna Paramparā (Indian Knowledge Systems).
The conference is designed to:
-
Deliberate on manuscript conservation, digitisation and decipherment.
- Advertisement - -
Discuss the ethical handling of these sacred texts.
-
Explore the use of AI and modern tech in cataloguing and translations.
-
Integrate manuscript studies into mainstream educational curricula.
Workshops, cultural performances, demonstrations of conservation methods, and exhibitions of rare manuscripts will also be part of the event. Importantly, startups working on manuscript-related technologies will be showcased, illustrating how even the tech ecosystem is beginning to embrace India’s knowledge heritage.
A historic push for global recognition
The government expects to adopt a landmark “New Delhi Declaration on Manuscript Heritage” at the end of the conference. Working groups will also be formed to focus on areas like conservation, translation, decipherment, and digital archiving.
Additionally, a Manuscript Research Partner programme will be launched to involve students and researchers in studying, digitising and spreading awareness of these treasures.
Reviving Sanatana Dharma’s civilisational memory
This is not merely a scholarly exercise. It is an act of civilisational reclamation. For centuries, India’s profound contributions, from Nyaya and Mimamsa (logic and interpretation), to Vastu, Jyotisha, Ayurveda, Shilpa Shastra, and the Dharmashastras, have been neglected, distorted, or reduced to folklore by colonial and later Western academic narratives.
These manuscripts preserve the living soul of Sanatana Dharma, carrying forward traditions of temple consecration, rituals, metaphysical debates, codes of ethics, and deep ecological wisdom. By cataloguing and studying them, India is not only safeguarding artefacts but reasserting its philosophical sovereignty.
More than preservation: a civilisational imperative
This global conference is also a response to how foreign institutions once took charge of interpreting Indic texts, often stripping them of their dharmic context. Through initiatives like this, India is setting protocols to ensure manuscripts are conserved respectfully, decoded authentically, and that their knowledge systems are taught with fidelity.
Equally, by involving students and tech startups, it is ensuring that the next generation of Indians engages with their heritage with pride, curiosity, and rigour, not apologetically or as outsiders to their own legacy.
A cultural resurgence in motion
As India moves towards September, this event stands as a profound marker of how a modern nation is reconnecting with its timeless roots. The global manuscript conference is more than an academic milestone; it is Sanatana Dharma’s renaissance in motion, inviting the world to see Bharat’s intellectual traditions in their full dignity and grandeur.
If this becomes a template, rooted in authenticity, powered by technology, and driven by youthful scholarship, it could spark a new era where India does not merely preserve its ancient wisdom but confidently leads global conversations on knowledge, ethics, and harmonious living.