Asiatic Society of Mumbai's Ganesh Gyanarthi Exhibition; Manuscripts to Link with Gyan Bharatam

1
Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the 'Ganesh Gyanarthi Exhibition' of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai on 13 September 2026.
2
He urged the Society to link its manuscripts with the Gyan Bharatam National Manuscript Mission and gather manuscripts from villages across Maharashtra.
3
The Society's rare holdings include Mahabharata illustrations, the Jain Kalpasutra and Buddhist texts.

●Asiatic Society of Mumbai: began as the Literary Society of Bombay, founded by Sir James Mackintosh; first met 26 November 1804.
●Renamed Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (1830), Asiatic Society of Bombay (1954), present name (2002). Housed in Mumbai's Town Hall; a grantee body of the Ministry of Culture.
●Its President is Dr Vinay Sahasrabuddhe. Holdings named in the release: Mahabharata illustrations, the Jain Kalpasutra, rare Buddhist texts.
●Gyan Bharatam Mission: announced in Union Budget 2025-26 (1 February 2025) to survey and digitise more than one crore manuscripts; outlay above Rs 490 crore for 2025-31.
●Shah proposed a 'Kane Samagra' of the works of Bharat Ratna Pandurang Vaman Kane.
●The Asiatic Society (Kolkata): founded 15 January 1784 by Sir William Jones; autonomous body under the Ministry of Culture.
●Nalanda Mahavihara (Bihar): founded by Kumaragupta I (Gupta dynasty, 5th century CE); UNESCO World Heritage Site since 15 July 2016.

upsc

GS Paper 1 > Art & Culture > Institutions and Manuscript Heritage

★Match the learned society with its founder and year: Asiatic Society (1784, William Jones), Literary Society of Bombay (1804, James Mackintosh).

Indology

The study of Indian history, languages, literature, philosophy, epigraphy and numismatics, first developed by European orientalist scholars.

Gyan Bharatam Mission

The Union Budget 2025-26 mission to survey, document and digitise India's manuscript heritage.

•Asiatic Society, Kolkata: 15 January 1784, Sir William Jones.
•Literary Society of Bombay: 26 November 1804, Sir James Mackintosh; today's Asiatic Society of Mumbai.
•Gyan Bharatam: Budget 2025-26, over one crore manuscripts, Rs 490+ crore for 2025-31.

•The trap is swapping founders: Jones founded the Kolkata society, Mackintosh the Bombay one.

Question 1 of 2Score: 0/0

Factual

Current Affairs Pulse