Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the Ganesh Gyanarthi Exhibition organised by the Asiatic Society of Mumbai on 13 September 2026. The event, held in Mumbai, brings together senior officials including Maharashtra’s Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister. The exhibition showcases rare manuscripts and historical collections that Shah said should be better preserved and shared across India.
What the government is asking the Asiatic Society to do
Shah outlined three main directions for the institution’s work going forward. First, the Asiatic Society should connect its manuscript collections with the Gyan Bharatam National Manuscript Mission, a government initiative for preserving Indian texts. Second, it should conduct campaigns to collect historical documents from villages and scholar homes across Maharashtra, linking these finds to the same national mission. Third, the institution should arrange for serious academic research on the knowledge contained in these manuscripts.
Shah emphasized that the manuscripts held by the Society contain valuable knowledge about India’s economic and defence traditions. He cited rare illustrations of the Mahabharata, Jain texts, and Buddhist works as examples of treasures that should reach wider audiences. The government will provide support and cooperation to enable this work, Shah said, and similar institutions across India should be connected to create a shared knowledge platform accessible to students and researchers nationwide.
What this means for you
If you are a student or researcher interested in Indian history, manuscripts, or traditional knowledge systems, these efforts could eventually make rare texts more accessible through a connected network of libraries and institutions. The push to digitise and link collections across the country means materials currently scattered may become easier to locate and study. However, this remains work in progress, and actual availability of these resources to the public will depend on how quickly the Asiatic Society and other institutions complete digitisation and establish the proposed shared platform.