Three Indian manuscripts enter UNESCO’s Asia Pacific Memory Register

Three Indian manuscript entries were announced on 5 November 2026 for the Memory of the World Regional Register for Asia and the Pacific. The decision was made at the eleventh session of the regional committee in Jakarta, Indonesia. The entries represent Kalhana’s Rajatarangini, the Mahabharata and Kautilya’s Arthashastra. The Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts helped prepare the Indian nomination dossiers.

The selections span different kinds of writing. The Rajatarangini is a twelfth-century account of Kashmir’s rulers and history. The Mahabharata is an epic that explores duty, justice and conflict, while the Arthashastra addresses government, administration and statecraft. The entries bring India’s regional total to six. The earlier group, inscribed in 2024, comprised manuscripts of the Ramcharitmanas, Panchatantra and Sahrdayaloka-Locana.

Facts to remember

• Announcement: 5 November 2026; regional committee session: Jakarta, Indonesia.
• Kalhana wrote the Rajatarangini, a historical chronicle of Kashmir.
• The Mahabharata is an epic; the Arthashastra is associated with Kautilya and deals with statecraft.
• With three new inscriptions, India has six entries on the regional register.

Background

The Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific was established in 1998. It maintains a regional list for documents and collections significant to Asia and the Pacific. The wider Memory of the World programme also has a separate international register. The distinction matters because a regional inscription identifies the particular register on which a manuscript is listed.

Why it matters for exams

For CLAT general knowledge, revise Indian literary heritage and international cultural institutions. Match each work to its author where applicable, its subject and the correct register.