English - National Mission for Manuscripts

history and culture of South India. A total numberof 24,432 titles are catalogued and in active use.The scripts used for Sanskrit language are Grantha,Devanagari, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Oriya.Fourteen volumes of Descriptive Catalogues havebeen published by the Library so far.The MRC at Thanjavur Maharaja Serfoji’s SaraswatiMahal Library has been functioning since September2003. The MRC has so far prepared 35,914 electronicdata of manuscripts in Tamil Nadu.Address:Sri S. SivagnanamProject CoordinatorThanjavur Maharaja Serfoji’s SaraswatiMahal LibraryThanjavur–613009Tamil NaduTel: 04362 234107/230206Fax: 04362 233568/230857Central Institute of BuddhistStudies, LehThe Central Institute of Buddhist Studies has beenworking as the nodal resource centre for Buddhismin the local area of Leh for several years. Formerlyknown as the ‘School of Buddhist Philosophy’, thisInstitute was established in 1959. Its main objectiveis to develop a comprehensive knowledge ofBuddhism. This includes the study of ancient shastras,culture, philosophy, history and languages such asHindi, Sanskrit, English, Tibetan and Pali. It alsopreserves and publishes rare Buddhist manuscriptsand facilitates research on Buddhism. The Instituteis dedicated to instilling the wisdom of Buddhistthought, literature and arts in young students.The Institute signed the MOU with the NationalMission of Manuscripts in August 2003 and has beensince then doing active work in the difficult terrainsof Ladhak, an area which is scattered with Buddhistmonasteries, the storehouses of manuscripts. TheMRC has so far conducted surveys in 755 institutionsand private collections and prepared electronic datafor 9,241 manuscripts in Tibetan and Bhoti, all relatedto Buddhirm and documented 17, 858 manuscripts ofBhum, Kangyur, Gyastongpa through seven scholars.It has conducted 50 publicity programmes whichreceived a phenomenal response from the people ofthis region.Address:Dr. Tsering MutupDirectorCentral Institute of Buddhist StudiesChoglamsarLeh (Laddak)–194001Tel./Fax: 01982-264391Mr. Tsering Muthup (AO) – 09419177543Directorate of State Archaeology,Archives & Museum, SrinagarIn Kashmir, Manuscripts were written in severallanguages on various materials such as birch bark,hand-made paper, wood, stone, cloth and terracotta.These manuscripts covered almost all importantaspects of the contemporary times such as religion,history, philosophy, literature, medicine, arts,geography and literature. The State of Jammu andKashmir undoubtedly, has a vast collection of suchmanuscripts and historical documents.The MRC at the Directorate started working with theMission in August 2003. The MRC has the mandateof collecting information on the rich cultural assetsin the form of manuscripts scattered all over theregion. The Directorate has offices both in Srinagarand Jammu. It has so far produced electronic datafor 3672 manuscripts and documented 28,137. Therest of the data has been sent to the Mission HeadOffice, New Delhi to be prepared for the electronicdata of Manus Granthavali. The Museum has covered23 institutions and 190 private collections coveringseven districts, and has held several awarenesscampaigns across Jammu and Kashmir.National Mission for Manuscripts | Annual Report 2010–201165