INDIA, March, 28, 2011 (The Times of India): Dipti S. Tripathi is the director of the National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM), an organisation working for the conservation and preservation of Indian manuscripts. Their latest project – building a database of digitized manuscripts – has taken off with the successful digitization of over 9.3 million folios. Tripathi spoke about the ongoing work of the NMM and the challenges it faces.
“No nation can prosper on borrowed money, technology, intellect and language. If India has to prosper, we will have to look for solutions to its problems within rather than without,” he said. “Our ancient manuscripts have dealt with problems related to ecological issues, problems facing society, the education system – you name it”says Tripathi on the relevance of manuscripts today. He concludes, “We have to give young people the opportunity to learn what is theirs, what is already time tested , proven to be efficacious and something which is as scientific as any other science.”
One of the mandated areas of the NMM’s functioning is the purchase of manuscripts. Some scholars or holders might want to sell manuscripts in their possession. “We haven’t entered that area to date but have proposed in our annual action plan that it be included. Manuscripts need to be saved from landing up in unscrupulous, uninformed hands. They also need to be protected from being sold abroad, says Tripathi.