President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday called for efforts to bring back rare books and manuscripts which were taken away from India by invaders.

She was inaugurating the ‘Festival of Libraries’ in New Delhi. The festival is being organised by the Ministry of Culture with the aim to promote development and digitisation of libraries and cultivate the culture of reading.

The president said that the development of libraries is correlated to the development of society and culture. It is also a measure of progress of civilisations.

She stated that history is full of such references in which the invaders considered it necessary to destroy the libraries. ”This shows that libraries have been considered a symbol of the collective consciousness and intellect of a country or society.”

She pointed out that such incidents do not happen in the modern era but there are incidents of disappearance of rare manuscripts and books.

President Murmu said libraries act as a bridge between civilizations. In ancient and medieval periods, people of many countries carried books from India, translated those and gained knowledge. At the heart of such efforts is the thought that books and libraries are the common heritage of humanity.

She said a small book has the potential to change the course of world history. She referred to Gandhiji’s autobiography, where he mentioned about the great positive impact of John Ruskin’s book ‘Unto This Last’ on his life. She said that books contain in them the fragrance of the land and vastness of the sky.

The president said that efforts for conservation of manuscripts and modernization and digitisation of libraries are very important. The nature of libraries is changing with the use of information and communication technology. Accessibility has become easier.

She noted that the National Virtual Library of India is being developed to achieve the national goal of ‘One Nation, One Digital Library’. She expressed confidence that with the success of the National Mission on Libraries the culture of connecting with libraries and reading books would be strengthened.

The president said libraries should become centers of social interaction, study and contemplation. She appreciated the Ministry of Culture for taking forward the national campaign for the development of libraries.