London Returns More Than 2,000 Manuscripts to the Jain Community
After more than 100 years, London's Wellcome Collection will return 2,000 rare Jain manuscripts to the Jain community, marking a major step in restoring and preserving Jain heritage.
After more than a century in London, around 2,000 rare Jain manuscripts are finally returning to the Jain community.
The manuscripts were purchased in 1919 from Jain temples in the Punjab region, now part of Pakistan, and today form the largest collection of Jain manuscripts outside South Asia.
These handwritten texts contain centuries of knowledge on religion, philosophy, culture, history, and medicine. Among them are an illustrated 16th-century copy of the Kalpasutra and the oldest surviving copy of an early Hindi medical text from 1592.
Following a review of their origins, the Wellcome Collection concluded that the manuscripts had been acquired at a very low price and not in the best interests of their original owners.
It was therefore decided that returning them was the most ethical course of action.
Because few Jains remain in Pakistan and ownership in India could be complex, the collection will be transferred to the UK-based Institute of Jainology.
The manuscripts will then be preserved and studied at the University of Birmingham, while remaining accessible to researchers and the global Jain community.
Community leaders have welcomed the decision, calling it a significant step in reconnecting Jains with a priceless part of their heritage. The transfer process will begin this year and may take several years to complete.
Many are describing the move as a historic moment for the preservation and restoration of Jain culture, history, and knowledge.
