Tai manuscripts yet to get recognition

Tai manuscripts, written on the bark of Sanchi trees in the ancient times, now lying scattered in upper Assam districts, are yet to get due recognition by the National Mission for Manuscripts, New Delhi.
It has come to light from a letter by Dipti S Tripathi, Director, National Mission for Manuscripts, Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, New Delhi to Girin Phukan, Director, Institute of Tai Studies and Research, Moranhat, dated September 6, 2010.

Sri Phukan alleged that no such Tai manuscript has been preserved in the Manuscript Resource Centre (MRC), Guwahati till date. It has indicated the negligence towards the language as well as the communities of the Tai origin residing mostly in the upper Assam districts, he said.

In Assam, there are six local groups of people of Tai origin, namely, Tai Ahom, Tai Aiton, Tai Khamti, Tai Khamyang, Tai Phake and Tai Turung. There is a similarity among the dialects they use. Phukan said that the origin of these dialects was the same and the difference from one another is very little.

Full report here Assam Tribune

Hub for Tai manuscripts

The National Mission for Manuscripts of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi, has offered to set up a research centre at the Institute of Tai Studies and Research, an NGO, at Moranhat in Sivasagar district to preserve Tai manuscripts.

Girin Phukan, the honorary director of the institute, said Dipti S. Tripathi, the director of the National Mission for Manuscripts, expressed her interest in the “culture of the people residing in the Northeast, as they have contributed immensely to the rich cultural and literary heritage of the country”.

Phukan was speaking at a book release function at Jorhat Press Club on Sep 19.

In a letter to the institute, Tripathi said they had projects on publishing manuscripts, training conservationists, manuscriptologists and paleographists.

Full report here Telegraph