<p>The state government is contemplating tabling “The Karnataka Jnana Bhandar Manuscripts and Digitalisation Bill 2025,” with the objective of preserving and digitizing manuscripts available across the state.</p>.<p>The bill envisages the state tourism department forming a Karnataka Manuscripts Authority which will conduct a comprehensive survey of manuscripts with their origins or linked to Karnataka, in public and private custody within the state and beyond.</p>.<p>The bill will empower the authority to survey, document, conserve, digitalise, research, publish and provide public access to the manuscripts. </p>.Four govt schools get Israel's smart digital boards in Karnataka's Bantwal taluk.<p>Handwritten or palm leaf records, birch bark, paper, cloth, copper plate or stone inscriptions or any other material will be surveyed. The only condition is that they should not be printed nor lithographed in any other Indian or foreign script. Miniature paintings on palm leaf or paper and audio-visual recording of oral traditions regarding the ancient knowledge will also be undertaken for preservation of manuscripts. </p>.<p>Speaking about the bill, Minister for Law, Tourism and Parliamentary Affairs H K Patil said, “The bill is a first-of-its kind and people in possession of the manuscripts will have to self-declare the same to the government irrespective of the condition of the manuscript.” However, after preservation and digitisation, the manuscripts will be returned to the owners and if under any circumstances the owners want to give up the manuscripts, the government will take up the ownership. </p>.<p>Devaraj A, Commissioner of Department of Archaeology, Museums, and Heritage, told <span class="italic">DH</span>, “We will take the manuscripts and conserve them. If the owners do not want to publicise the content of the manuscripts, it will remain private. A token of appreciation will also be provided certifying ownership of the manuscripts.”</p>.<p>Experts, who have been in the business of collecting and preserving manuscripts, said that preservation can be achieved only through a combination of stable temperature, pest control and proper storage.</p>.<p>“After retrieving manuscripts, they are put through a process of de-acidification and fumigation. This process must be carefully done by an expert to make sure nothing is overdone. Else, it will destroy what is recovered,” said the expert, who didn’t wish to be named. “We convert the retrieved manuscript it into a form that can be digitized, using specialized techniques and materials to stabilize fragile paper and inks,” he added. </p>.<p>“The bill is a first-of-its kind and people in possession of the manuscripts will have to self-declare the same to the government irrespective of the condition of the manuscript.</p>
<p>The state government is contemplating tabling “The Karnataka Jnana Bhandar Manuscripts and Digitalisation Bill 2025,” with the objective of preserving and digitizing manuscripts available across the state.</p>.<p>The bill envisages the state tourism department forming a Karnataka Manuscripts Authority which will conduct a comprehensive survey of manuscripts with their origins or linked to Karnataka, in public and private custody within the state and beyond.</p>.<p>The bill will empower the authority to survey, document, conserve, digitalise, research, publish and provide public access to the manuscripts. </p>.Four govt schools get Israel's smart digital boards in Karnataka's Bantwal taluk.<p>Handwritten or palm leaf records, birch bark, paper, cloth, copper plate or stone inscriptions or any other material will be surveyed. The only condition is that they should not be printed nor lithographed in any other Indian or foreign script. Miniature paintings on palm leaf or paper and audio-visual recording of oral traditions regarding the ancient knowledge will also be undertaken for preservation of manuscripts. </p>.<p>Speaking about the bill, Minister for Law, Tourism and Parliamentary Affairs H K Patil said, “The bill is a first-of-its kind and people in possession of the manuscripts will have to self-declare the same to the government irrespective of the condition of the manuscript.” However, after preservation and digitisation, the manuscripts will be returned to the owners and if under any circumstances the owners want to give up the manuscripts, the government will take up the ownership. </p>.<p>Devaraj A, Commissioner of Department of Archaeology, Museums, and Heritage, told <span class="italic">DH</span>, “We will take the manuscripts and conserve them. If the owners do not want to publicise the content of the manuscripts, it will remain private. A token of appreciation will also be provided certifying ownership of the manuscripts.”</p>.<p>Experts, who have been in the business of collecting and preserving manuscripts, said that preservation can be achieved only through a combination of stable temperature, pest control and proper storage.</p>.<p>“After retrieving manuscripts, they are put through a process of de-acidification and fumigation. This process must be carefully done by an expert to make sure nothing is overdone. Else, it will destroy what is recovered,” said the expert, who didn’t wish to be named. “We convert the retrieved manuscript it into a form that can be digitized, using specialized techniques and materials to stabilize fragile paper and inks,” he added. </p>.<p>“The bill is a first-of-its kind and people in possession of the manuscripts will have to self-declare the same to the government irrespective of the condition of the manuscript.</p>
