Context (PIB): Ramcharitmanas, Panchatantra, and Sahṛdayāloka-Locana enter ‘UNESCO’s Memory of the World Asia-Pacific Regional Register.’
The decision was taken at the 10th General Meeting of the Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific (MOWCAP), which was convened on May 7-8 in Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar.
The MoW (Memory of the World) Program was launched by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1992.
MOWCAP was set up in 1998 during its First MOWCAP General Meeting.
MOWCAP embraces the Asia Pacific region of 43 countries – one of five UNESCO regions across the globe.
MOWCAP maintains an Asia/Pacific Regional Register of the MoW documentary heritage, a listing of the documentary heritage of influence in the Asia/Pacific region.
MOWCAP is the authority that approves inscriptions on the Asia/Pacific MoW Register. It assesses nominations from members through its Asia/Pacific Register Subcommittee.
Normally, inscriptions on the Asia/Pacific Register are made every two years.
Objectives of MOWCAP
To promote, facilitate and monitor the MoW Program within the region, and to represent the region at the international level.
It supports and facilitates nominations and encourages adequate representation of the region’s documentary heritage in the International MOW Register.
It supports and complements the work of the National MoW Committees.
Other listings from India in MOW Register
The I.A.S. Tamil Medical Manuscript Collection (1997)
Authored by 16th century Indian poet Goswami Tulsidas, ‘Ramcharitmanas’ is an epic poem that narrates the life of Lord Rama.
It is based on the Sanskrit epic Ramayana and is written in the Awadhi dialect of Hindi.
The choice to write in Awadhi reflects the Bhakti movement’semphasis on devotion and the effort to make religious texts accessible to a wider audience.
The poem is divided into seven chapters, or Kandas, that tell the story of Lord Ram from his birth to becoming the King of Ayodhya.
The poem is also called TulsikritRamayan (literally, The Ramayan composed by Tulsi or, loosely, The Ramayan of Tulsidas).
Panchatantra
The Panchatantra is a collection of folktales and fables that were believed to have been originally written in Sanskrit by Vishnu Sharma more than 2500 years ago.
It is a book of Niti, the wise conduct of life, written in the form of a chain of simple stories. Each story has a moral and philosophical theme, aiming to guide the reader in attaining success in life by understanding human nature.