AusHeritage Board member Heather Brown presented sessions at a landmark international conference on Indian manuscripts held in Delhi on 11 – 13 September 2025.

India possesses one of the world’s richest and largest collections of ancient manuscripts. These manuscripts contain thousands of years of ancient knowledge spanning subjects that include philosophy, science, medicine, literature, Vedic rituals, mathematics, and the arts. 

Under the leadership of India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, the Government of India has recently announced the establishment of the Gyan Bharatam Mission (GBM)  https://gyanbharatam.com/ to safeguard and showcase India’s invaluable manuscript heritage.

Prime Minister Modi delivered the central message of the conference, highlighting the vision of the Gyan Bharatam Mission to safeguard and revitalise India’s manuscript heritage through strategies that include systematic survey and documentation, conservation, digitisation, and publication. The three-day conference provided an opportunity to engage with international colleagues about GBM’s strategic directions. Of special note was the emphasis on preservation and conservation and the focus on disaster risk management as a core strategy.