Sat Sep 13 09:35:00 UTC 2025: Here’s a summary and news article rewrite based on the provided text:

**Summary:**

An international conference, “Gyan Bharatam,” focusing on India’s manuscript heritage, concluded in New Delhi with the adoption of the “New Delhi Declaration.” This declaration emphasizes the importance of preserving, digitizing, and disseminating knowledge embedded in manuscripts, viewing them as crucial to India’s civilizational identity and a guide for the future, not just relics of the past. The declaration supports acquiring or digitally copying original manuscripts and promotes the Gyan Bharatam Mission, a government initiative to survey, document, conserve, and digitize manuscripts across India. The goal is to transform the mission into a mass movement involving widespread public participation.

**News Article:**

**New Delhi Declaration Calls for Manuscript Preservation as ‘Guiding Light’ for the Future**

**New Delhi, India – September 13, 2025** – An international conference on India’s rich manuscript heritage, “Gyan Bharatam,” concluded today with the adoption of the landmark “New Delhi Declaration.” The declaration, agreed upon by global participants including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, solidifies a commitment to preserving, digitizing, and widely disseminating the knowledge contained within India’s vast collection of ancient manuscripts.

The declaration asserts that manuscripts are far more than relics of the past; they represent the “living memory of a nation” and serve as the “foundation of its civilizational identity.” With India boasting an estimated 10 million manuscripts, the initiative aims to unlock the cultural and traditional knowledge they hold.

“We firmly believe manuscripts are not merely relics of the past, but a guiding light for the future,” stated the declaration.

A key component of the declaration is a resolution to actively “acquire and repatriate original manuscripts or secure their digital copies,” ensuring that these vital pieces of history are both preserved and accessible.

The government’s Gyan Bharatam Mission, under the Ministry of Culture, will be a major driver in realizing these goals. The mission aims to survey, document, conserve, digitize, and make accessible over one crore (10 million) manuscripts located across India, from academic institutions to private collections.

Organizers hope to transform the Gyan Bharatam Mission into a “jan aandolan” (mass movement), encouraging widespread public participation in the effort to safeguard India’s manuscript heritage.

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