Oriental Research Institute, Mysuru houses over 70,000 manuscripts and 45,000 rare prints | Photo credit: MA SRIRAM
Karnataka is advancing its vision to become a national leader in digital heritage preservation with a proposal to create a single Karnataka digital heritage portal that will integrate manuscripts, rare printed works, archival records and other cultural resources on a single platform.
Jointly led by the Oriental Research Institute (ORI), Mysuru and Karnataka State Archives, the initiative is in line with the Union Government’s Digital India Mission and the National Manuscripts Mission. Officials said the portal will provide global access to the state’s cultural heritage and enhance long-term conservation and research.
As a key part of the plan, ORI Mysuru is set to host the National Center for the History of Indian Sciences, which will further enhance its role as a premier knowledge repository. The institute has already embarked on an ambitious program to digitize its entire collection of palm leaves and paper manuscripts, while creating a dedicated website to make the rare resources available to scholars around the world.
To accelerate digitization, ORI has entered into an MoU with Mahabharata Pratishthana, Bengaluru, and is also collaborating with the Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi. The institute is modernizing its technology infrastructure to support artificial intelligence tools for script recognition, metadata tagging and digital restoration of damaged materials — an area where initial experiments have shown promising results, officials stressed.
A short audiovisual presentation has already been created to demonstrate the work in progress and showcase the transformative potential of the digital heritage initiative. The broader plan also includes educational programs for digital archivists and expanded digitization capacity.
The ORI in Mysuru houses over 70,000 manuscripts and 45,000 rare printed works, including the Arthashastra, Aryabhatiya, Natya Shastra and Sritattvanidhi. Digitization projects worth over ₹2.15 crore by the Bengaluru Mythic Society and the Save Our Country Foundation have enabled the conversion of a large portion of its holdings into digital archives.
Digitization report
The consolidated report, which was earlier submitted to the Union government, highlighted ongoing projects to protect rare collections that reflect India’s intellectual heritage — from Ayurveda and astronomy to temple records and classical literature.
The report was presented at a workshop on “Digitization of Manuscripts and Archives” jointly organized by the Departments of Archives, Tourism and University of Mysore at the Venkatappa Art Gallery on Thursday.
Pointing to India’s rich knowledge traditions enshrined in thousands of palm leaves and paper manuscripts, the report states that Karnataka has a substantial share of this heritage, especially in Sanskrit and Kannada. “As aging materials and natural decay present challenges, institutions are combining traditional conservation with high-resolution scanning and AI-based script recognition for long-term preservation and wider access,” it said.
The Karnataka State Archives, with repositories in Bengaluru and Mysuru, preserves public records dating back to 1811, including palace correspondence, maps and photographs, which trace the development of the princely state of Mysore into modern Karnataka. Conservation labs are actively involved in fumigation, deacidification and other treatments to extend the life of fragile documents, the report said.
Published – 04 Dec 2025 21:18 IST
