Oldest known copy of Sikh scripture outside India found in the British Library

A centuries old manuscript of the Sikh scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib or Adi Granth, has been discovered in the collections of the British Library.

The manuscript, previously thought to date only from the late 19th century, has been shown to date from the middle of the 17th century (circa 1660-1675). The original Adi Granth, containing verses by the founder of Sikhism Guru Nanak and other Sikh Gurus and saints, was first compiled in 1604. This copy is the oldest known manuscript of the Adi Granth to be found outside India and one of the twenty oldest known copies in existence.

The manuscript was purchased by the British Museum in 1884 from the Reverend A. Fisher, who had been principal of a missionary school in Amritsar in the Punjab. It was most likely written between 1650 and 1680 with some later additions to reflect the expansion of the scriptural text at the end of the 17th century. The final two thirds of the manuscript, being no doubt worn out with use, were rewritten on new folios during the 19th century.

Manuscript conservation ' the key issue

This find will be of great significance to the 21-million strong Sikh community worldwide, as well as to the 600,000 Sikhs in the UK and nearly 800,000 Sikhs in North America. Its importance is further increased by the fact that experts estimate that up to eighty percent of Sikh scriptural manuscripts have disappeared in the last century due to conflict, neglect and poor conservation, yet this example has been found in the UK's national library.

Manuscript cataloguing ' the initiative taken by UKPHA Dr Jeevan Deol of St. John's College, University of Cambridge made the discovery during preparatory work on a project to create a union catalogue of Panjabi manuscripts outside of India and Pakistan. The project aims to catalogue nearly 650 Panjabi manuscripts in collections in the UK, Europe, the US and central Asia in print form as well as on the internet.

The manuscripts being catalogued in the project, many of which are lavishly illustrated, include religious texts from the Sikh, Islamic and Hindu faiths, philosophical texts, love stories, texts about traditional medicine, historical texts and translations of classical Sanskrit texts. The project is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and British Academy and is managed by the UK Punjab Heritage Association (UKPHA), a London-based community cultural association (via its subsidiary, Eastern Arts Partnership).