A remarkable collection of ancient Jain manuscripts acquired by Sir Henry Wellcome during his expansive global collecting campaign is finally set to return to the Jain community, after nearly a century away.
The texts, gathered during the colonial era for only a few rupees each, are now being repatriated in what has been described as a landmark act of restitution.
According to the Wellcome Collection, more than half the manuscripts were purchased by Wellcome’s agents from a single Jain temple in Punjab, now in modern-day Pakistan, which no longer survives. The institution acknowledged that the texts were acquired “against the best interests of their original owners” during a colonial system that enabled unequal transactions.
The collection, comprising more than 2,000 Jain manuscripts dating from the 15th to the 19th centuries, formed part of the vast archive of over a million objects left behind by pharmaceutical entrepreneur Sir Henry Wellcome following his death in 1936. Among the manuscripts are what may be the oldest surviving copy of the first medical treatise written in Hindi, the 1592 text A Celebration of Physicians, as well as a 19th-century work on Indian independence said to have inspired Mahatma Gandhi.
The document heavily critiques the ethical foundations of British rule in India.
Kalpasutra and A celebration of Physicians
Older manuscripts include a rare and magnificently illustrated, early 16th-century copy of an important Jain scripture, the Kalpasutra; and a slim, fragile and battered 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.
The manuscripts provide an important window onto the history of health and human experience. They will initially be moved to the Dharmanath Network in Jain Studies at the University of Birmingham, which will open the collection to those researchers and faith communities who are best placed to read, interpret and translate their content for a global audience.
Established in 2023, the Dharmanath Network in Jain Studies is the first teaching and research programme in the UK to have been established by Jain communities in the UK, USA and India. Wellcome Collection believes this to be the most appropriate place to maximise community access, deepen research opportunities and safeguard the future of this significant collection.
Initial research and scoping of this 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, and their notes will be made accessible on Wellcome Collection’s website as part of the agreement.
Dr Plau has previously detailed how Wellcome’s representatives relied heavily on colonial power structures to amass the collection. Led by a retired British army officer, agents reportedly secured artefacts at minimal prices, sometimes from sellers facing severe financial or legal pressures.
Memorandum of Understanding
Jainism is an Indian religion that emphasises spiritual purity, self-discipline and non-violence (ahimsa) toward all living creatures and whose 24th and last enlightened teacher lived in the sixth-century BCE. The collection spans 15th-century illustrated manuscripts to unique texts from the 19th century, covering religion, literature, medicine and culture, from Prakrit and Sanskrit to Gujarati, Rajasthani and early Hindi.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed at an event in the House of Commons on 14 May between Wellcome Trust for Wellcome Collection, the Institute of Jainology and the University of Birmingham and a full legal agreement will subsequently be drawn up in accordance with the MoU.
Mehool Sanghrajka, Managing Trustee, Institute of Jainology said, "Wellcome Collection’s brave decision to return these 2,000 sacred manuscripts is both pioneering and a model for other faith communities. We recognise that some of these manuscripts may not have survived the turmoil in India post-independence, and we are grateful to Wellcome for the care and respect they have shown these texts.
“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”
