Overview

• Mani Maran’s free evening classes at the Saraswathi Mahal Library in Thanjavur teach the ancient Suvadiyiyal script, helping students and researchers unlock centuries-old palm-leaf manuscripts.
• Modi held up Maran’s grassroots effort in Mann Ki Baat as an example of how individuals can safeguard India’s cultural and intellectual heritage.
• The Gyan Bharatam Mission, introduced in the 2025 Union Budget, will digitize ancient manuscripts and compile them into a National Digital Repository for worldwide scholarly access.
• Tamil palm-leaf texts encompass diverse fields such as traditional medicine, science, music, and philosophy and are now being revisited by new scholars.
• Citizens are encouraged to collaborate with the Ministry of Culture or use the MyGov platform to contribute to manuscript preservation and digitization efforts.