Madhya Pradesh Archaeology Department collected a rare set of historical documents in July 2026

Madhya Pradesh Archaeology Department collected a rare set of historical documents in July 2026

¨     Madhya Pradesh Archaeology Department collected a rare set of historical documents in July 2026.

¨     The collection includes a rare record related to the Revolt of 1857.

¨     It also contains a document bearing the signature of Tatya Tope, one of the leading figures of the 1857 uprising.

¨     An original 1853 portrait of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is also part of the collection.

¨     The document signed by Tatya Tope was handed over to the Government by the former princely state of Shivpuri after India's Independence.

¨     These historical records are important for studying colonial administration, the Revolt of 1857, and princely-state archives.

¨     The collection has been preserved under the Gyan Bharatam Mission.

¨     The Gyan Bharatam Mission is a national initiative for the collection, preservation, and digitisation of rare manuscripts and historical documents.

¨     The last date for citizens to submit rare manuscripts under the mission was 30 June 2025.

¨     Madhya Pradesh received around 3.4 million documents under the mission.

¨     About 1.2 million documents were verified.

¨     By February 2025, the State Archives Department had preserved 68.8 million documents.

¨     The archives include records from former princely states and regional collections.

¨     The Madhya Pradesh archives contain documents in English, Hindi, Urdu, Persian, Marathi/Modi, and Bundeli.

¨     A 70-page 16th-century treatise on poetics, discovered in Panna, is also part of the preserved collection.

¨     The treatise explains the classical concepts of Shringara Rasa and Nayika-Bheda in Sanskrit poetics.

¨     The original portrait of Rani Lakshmibai was discovered in a museum in Datia.