Long before silicon chips and supercomputers, India had already designed its own architectures of intelligence. Etched on palm leaves, inscribed on birch bark, and expressed in countless scripts, these manuscripts carried algorithms of thought — governing not just sciences and mathematics, but philosophy, medicine, aesthetics, and astronomy. They were not passive texts; they were dynamic codes through which a civilisation organised knowledge, transmitted wisdom, and generated innovation. To open a manuscript is to access India’s oldest operating system.

Civilisations are remembered not only for their monuments of stone and metal, but also for the words of wisdom they leave behind. A manuscript, whether on palm leaf, birch bark, copper plate or handmade paper, carries with it the spirit of its age — the anxieties, the hopes, and the wisdom of those who shaped it. In today’s world, where nations are locked in a contest not just of arms but of ideas, India’s manuscripts are our greatest arsenal of knowledge. They remind us that India is not simply an old civilisation; it is a continuing one, with the resilience to endure and the vision to guide.

The wars of the 21st century are often fought in symbols, stories, and narratives. Europe........

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