Prof Pandey calls for maintaining ancient manuscripts
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, February 20 2018:
Vice-Chancellor, Manipur University, Professor Adya Prasad Pandey has appealed to all those individuals who owned ancient manuscripts and rare documents but can no longer preserve well in their custody, to submit its copies at the university library in order to maintain it with great care.
He was speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural function of '5-day National Workshop on Preventive Conservation of Manuscripts & Rare Documents' held today at the seminar hall of DLIS, MU.
Professor Pandey underscored the need to digitize the ancient manuscripts and rare documents to secure preservation.
He expressed hope that the library authority of the university would take the central role in approaching the individuals who owned ancient manuscripts and rare documents for preservation at its library.
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Manuscripts are very important for a society and they are the most important constituents of literature as it acts as the chronicle of the past society that are being revealed/ disclosed to the present society by subsisting as rare documents, he maintained.
Noting that preservation of manuscripts and rare documents is of immense value to the country particularly for States like Manipur where dialects, languages and cultures are diversified, the Professor stated that the workshop will be valuable and add another milestone in the preservation of manuscripts in the State.
He also exuded confidence that the workshop will provide more insights and knowledge to all concerned and end on a positive note.
Presiding over the function, Professor N Lokendra Singh who was the Dean, School of Social Sciences, MU pointed out that many of the ancient manuscripts of the State are lying in the depositories of local scholars.
He expressed apprehension that the precious documents are most likely to be disappeared if the Government and central funding agencies do not take up appropriate steps to preserve them well.
Asserting that every form of ancient articles, including official papers of Manipur Darbar, private correspondences and even personal diaries need to be maintained for the sources of history of the State, he emphasised on the need for adopting a scientific method to preserve the ancient manuscripts and articles accordingly.
He regretted that the MU library lacks initiatives for preserving Puya scripts and ancient manuscripts although many books and PhD thesis have been digitized and stored in the library.
He opined that organising such workshops in continuous manner would prove fruitful for many regional and local archivists of the country.
The function was also attended by Dr DV Singh, Librarian, Delhi University, Library System, New Delhi, Dr DK Singh, Deputy Librarian, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Dr Kirti Shrivastava, Coordinator, National Mission for Manuscript, Ministry of Culture, Government of India and Professor Th Purnima Devi, MU as guests of honour.