Vice President laments countrymen's apathy to old manuscripts

Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari today visited the K R Cama Oriental Research Institute here and expressed delight over seeing some rare books and ancient manuscripts.
"India being an old country and repository of innumerable civilisations is a treasure house of not just manuscripts or books but also ideas and traditions. But as a people we have neglected some of our old treasures," he said.
"Old manuscripts have not been given the attention they deserve. The world is very proud of our past and they know what is available in India. The fact that Cama Institute facilities are used more by the foreign scholars than the domestic ones is not a good commentary on our interest in these matters," he said.

The institute was set up in 1916 in the memory of the renowned oriental scholar and social reformer Khurshedjee Rustomji Cama. It has a collection of over 26,000 rare books in various languages and nearly 2,000 manuscripts in Avestan, Pehlavi, Zend and Persian languages. An ongoing project to preserve its manuscripts is being carried out by INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage).
Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao, Industry Minister Subhash Desai and M N Cama of the Cama Institute were among those present.