Preserving the Past and Building the Future: The Role of Private Custodians of Manipur Manuscripts

Libraries and librarianship were existed long before but still manuscripts libraries were mostly imperial or private institutions. Access was limited to users. The trends have started changing with the advent of the library reform movement which advocated the building of more libraries opening them to all persons. The manuscripts of Manipur are also in the hands of the private custodians so it should be preserved because they contain the forgotten speeches and writings of native founding. Preserving the rich cultural heritage of a society constitute a basic component of the UNESCO's memory of the world programme. In this milieu, the paper has been prepared to present the role of Manipuri manuscripts in Manipur.