Amritsar, March 29 (IANS) Amritsar resident Amit Singh Rana beamed with pride on Sunday, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his Mann Ki Baat address to the nation, praised him for his work related to the preservation and digitisation of manuscripts.
Rana, who originally hails from Kanpur but has been living in Amritsar since 2013, said that having his name mentioned by the Prime Minister in Mann Ki Baat is a “matter of great pride for him”.
Speaking to IANS, Rana also expressed his gratitude to the Prime Minister for praising his work.
He said that he is actively involved in the preservation and research of manuscripts related to India’s ancient Vedic knowledge tradition, “as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream project ‘Gyan Bharatam'”.
“Many such manuscripts are found in homes, monasteries, temples, universities, and libraries across the country, and they form an important part of India’s cultural and intellectual heritage.”
He said that he is working to survey and study these manuscripts and ensure their preservation for future generations.
“I am working to bring all such manuscripts to the Government of India.”
Reflecting on his journey, Rana said: “In 2006, I had completed a course from the National Archives of India (NAI) (School of Archival Studies). From there, I got to know about manuscripts.”
“In 2010, I got to know about the National Manuscript Mission. I worked for some time at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts. During my time there as a resource person, I started giving training programmes to various manuscript conservation centres across the country under the National Manuscript Mission,” he said.
“I got associated with the Government of India during my time at Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts. Because I got to know about these manuscripts while I was working there.”
Rana encouraged people to inform the government if they possess such manuscripts, so that they can be properly preserved and studied.
“I want people who possess manuscripts in their houses to be aware of them. Rather than treating it as personal possessions, they should actually understand it as an important part of the nation’s heritage,” he said.
–IANS
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