Witnesses of History. The Role of India’s Libraries in Preserving the National Cultural Heritage

Abstract

The article is devoted to the history and current state of scientific study, preservation and publication of Indian manuscripts heritage. Special attention is paid to the activities of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts and National Mission for Manuscripts on digitization of ancient and medieval monuments of book culture and creation of National digital library of manuscripts of India. The author describes the history of Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library (Patna), which was opened in 1891 thanks to the illustrious Muslim public figure, lawyer and bibliophile Khuda Bakhsh. Currently the Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library is one of the leading national research and enlightenment institutions in India, specializing in the history and culture of the Medieval India and Islamic East. The role of library in the implementation of the national program on preservation, study, cataloguing, conservation, restoration and digitization of medieval oriental manuscripts (Arabic, Persian, in Pashto and Urdu) is characterized. There is also emphasized the continuity of India’s current library policy with the views of Khuda Bakhsh about the transformation of book repositories into the centers for the spread of knowledge.