Imphal, Feb 7 (Reporter) “The manuscripts are the living testimonies of the indigenous people. It is of utmost importance to preserve the available documents, records, and any written material as they reflect our past,” said Golap Baruah, popularly known as Anup Chetia, Chairman of the North East Indigenous People’s Forum, while speaking to UNI on Wednesday. Baruah said, "Histories can’t be created. Oral histories play an important part in building a nation.” He further said the trends of concocted histories cannot be accepted. Manipur’s rich cultural heritage and history of recorded events are profoundly reflected in the manuscripts, he added. Baruah personally visited the library of the renowned historian Padmashri Ningthoukhongjam Khelchandra at Uripok, where custodians of the records, Jatra, Tombi Raj, and Deven, showed the ancient texts written in Meitei script. The manuscripts included Cheitharol Kumbaba, which documents the history of Manipur from 33 AD to the 20th century. Baruah expressed his desire to preserve the manuscripts, which covered important works on literature, arts, medicine, astrology, geography, history, religion, etc. The large number of manuscripts should also be digitized, he said...////...