(THE GIST OF PIB) Gilgit Manuscripts

(June-2023)

Recently, the Minister of State for Culture inaugurated an exhibition under the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM) titled "Hamari Bhasha, Hamari Virasat” and mentioned about Gilgit Manuscripts to celebrate 75th International Archives Day at National Archives of India, New Delhi.

It was written between the 5" -6" centuries CE, which is the oldest surviving manuscript collection in India.
It was written on the birch bark folios documents written on pieces of inner layer of the bark of birch trees were found in Kashmir region.
It contains both canonical and non-canonical Jain and Buddhist works that throw light on the evolution of many religious-philosophical literature.

A manuscript is a handwritten composition on paper, bark, cloth, metal, palm leaf or any other material dating back at least seventy-five years that has significant scientific, historical or aesthetic value.
These are found in hundreds of different languages and scripts. Often, one language is written in a number of different scripts.
For example, Sanskrit is written in Oriya script, Grantha script, Devanagari script and many other scripts.
These are distinct from historical records such as epigraphs on rocks, farmans, revenue records which provide direct information on events or processes in history. Manuscripts have knowledge content.