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Source: The post is based on the article “National Archives of India organizes exhibition “Hamari Bhasha, Hamari Virasat” on the occasion of 75th International Archives Day” published in PIB on 11th June 2023
What is the News?
The Minister of State for Culture has inaugurated an exhibition under the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM) titled “Hamari Bhasha, Hamari Virasat”.
What is Hamari Bhasha, Hamari Virasat Conclave?
The conclave is being organized to commemorate the treasured heritage of India’s linguistic diversity as a Nation.
During the conclave, the National Archives of India has made available the Gilgit Manuscripts.
Note: India is blessed with extraordinary language diversity. According to an estimate out of 7,111 languages spoken globally, about 788 languages are spoken in India alone.
– India is thus one of the four most linguistically diversified countries in the world, along with Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and Nigeria.
What are Gilgit Manuscripts?
The birchbark and clay-coated Gilgit manuscripts are the oldest surviving manuscripts in India.
These manuscripts include both canonical and non-canonical Buddhist works that throw light on the evolution of Sanskrit, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Mongolian, Manchu and Tibetan religion-philosophical literature.
They are used for the study of the history and development of Buddhist thought and writing is invaluable.
These manuscripts can be dated back to the 5th to 6th Century A.D. and are written in the Buddhist hybrid Sanskrit language of the Gupta Brahmi and Post-Gupta Brahmi script of that period.
The manuscripts were discovered in three instalments in the Gilgit region of Kashmir.
