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India has welcomed the inclusion of the
3,000-year-old manuscripts of the Rig Veda by UNESCO in its cultural
list for posterity.
"We welcome the development. Whenever items
related to cultural heritage of India get recognition by the world,
it bring happiness to all the countrymen," Union Tourism and Culture
Minister Ambika Soni said recently.
She was referring to the Rig Veda manuscripts
from Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune, being selected
for inscription in UNESCO's 'Memory of the World' Register 2007.
So far, India has three other nominations
inscribed on the Register:
The I.A.S Tamil Medic Manuscript Collection
(1997),
Archives of the Dutch East India Company (2003) and
Saiva Manuscripts in Pondicherry (2005).
The Vedas are the first literary documents in the
history of humankind and transcend far beyond their identity as
scriptures.
Out of the total number of 28,000 manuscripts
housed at the institute in Pune, the 30 manuscripts of Rig Veda form
a valuable part of the collection.
"These manuscripts are of a high value as unique
examples of the intellectual and cultural heritage not only of
India, but of the world," it said.
The inclusion of the Rig Veda was recommended by
the International Advisory Committee of the Memory of the World
Programme meeting in Pretoria, South Africa.
The programme, launched in 1992 to preserve and
promote documentary heritage of global significance, much of which
is endangered, helps networks of experts to exchange information and
raise resources for preservation of, and access to, documentary
material. (Agencies)
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