Making history with archive of archives

The Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons has heartbreaking archival photographs of families whose loved ones disappeared in strife-hit Kashmir

It was Scottish poet Alexander Smith who had said, "I go into my library and all history unrolls before me." Imagine, then, what one could do, with all of India's libraries and historical archives at your fingertips.

That's exactly what the archival team at the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) seems to have pulled off, by building an online repository that lists and maps over 500 archives across India, and even some from outside the country. Titled Archives on India, the initiative is a first for this country, and is a sort of master-list of all museums and archives, says Professor Chinmay Tumbe, chairperson of the IIM-A archives committee and economics faulty at the premier institute.

Chinmay Tumbe, Professor

"Something like this didn't exist in India. We thought, why not start a repository of all archives across India, to bring resources together in one place. We wanted to help the community that works in historical research." Launched on International Archives Day this June 9, the master-list took a total of two months to compile, with efforts from archivist Abhishek Mishra, and assistant archivist Neetu Kumari. "As a complete archival buff, I visit archives all over the world, but even I had no idea just how many there were in India," says Professor Tumbe.

The team is particularly proud of the map of archives, which shows location pins of all the repositories they have listed. "It's fascinating to zoom in on, say, Jammu and Kashmir, and see how many archives are located there. Now, if I plan a trip somewhere and want to explore the history there, I can refer to this map and make a list of museums I might want to visit," says the professor, adding that the map itself has been viewed 11,000 times in just four days since the launch.

It's an invaluable resource particularly for students. "If you want to do research, you must refer to archives. But many students don't know how to locate them. Say, you live in Mumbai, and want to write an essay on its history, this resource can be your ready reckoner."

11,000
No. of times the map of Archives on India was viewed in 4 days