Alistair Hardaker | Image: Nainsukh, Vaidyamanotsav – A Celebration of Physicians, 1688 (Composed1592)
Collection held for over a century will move to Dharmanath Network at University of Birmingham following agreement with Institute of Jainology.
Wellcome Collection is to return more than 2,000 manuscripts from the ancient Indian Jain religion to its community, after more than a century.
The manuscripts will initially be moved to the Dharmanath Network in Jain Studies at the University of Birmingham, which will open the collection to researchers and faith communities who are placed to read, interpret and translate their content.
The collection is believed to be the largest of its kind outside South Asia. It will be returned following several years of dialogue and collaboration between Wellcome Collection and the Institute of Jainology, an organisation with offices in the UK and India promoting Jain values and religion through art, culture and education
The collection spans 15th-century illustrated manuscripts to texts from the 19th century, covering religion, literature, medicine and culture, from Prakrit and Sanskrit to Gujarati, Rajasthani and early Hindi.
Notable items include an early example of the Indian independence movement’s ethical principles that Gandhi later drew on. The document critiques the ethical foundations of British rule in India.
Older manuscripts include an early 16th-century copy of the Jain scripture the Kalpasutra, and a paper manuscript dating to 1688, possibly the earliest surviving copy of the first medical treatise in early Hindi, Nainsukh’s Vaidyamanotsav (A Celebration of Physicians), 1592.
More than half of the material at Wellcome Collection was acquired for Sir Henry Wellcome from a single Jain temple in Punjab that no longer exists. According to Wellcome Collection, they were bought at a low price and against the best interests of their original owners.
Initial research and scoping of the restitution programme was funded through the Headley Fellowship awarded by the Art Fund in 2021 to Wellcome Collection’s collections information lead, Dr Adrian Plau. The collection was mainly catalogued in the early 2000s by Dr Kanhaiyalal Virji Sheth and Dr Kalpana Sheth, facilitated through the Institute of Jainology.
The Dharmanath Network in Jain Studies is an academic and research hub based at the University of Birmingham, established by Jain communities in the UK, USA and India.
Managing trustee of the Institute of Jainology, Mehool Sanghrajka, said: “Wellcome Collection’s brave decision to return these 2,000 sacred manuscripts is both pioneering and a model for other faith communities.
“We believe that rather than judging historical events with modern eyes, we should find ways through collaboration to transform Jain scholarship and research and give the community access to its cultural heritage. We look forward to our collective efforts in ensuring these treasures are accessible to future generations.”
Associate Director, Collections & Digital, Wellcome Collection, Daniel Martin, added: “We have set the bar high for a collaborative and compassionate approach to restitution that recognises the hurt caused by unethical acquisition and retention of material heritage.”
