Heritage on paper
Ivninderpal Singh

Experiencing history through archives
by Syamalendu Sengupta. Munshiram Manoharlal
Publishers Pvt Ltd, New Delhi. Pages 167. Rs 350

Reconstructing the past to understand the political, social and cultural milieu requires going through various sources of history, which include material remains, inscriptions and coins. Another major primary source is archives. However, it is yet to catch the fancy of Indian scholars. Even educational institutions in the country lack the platform to attract the students’ attention towards archival material and its importance in studying past.

This book gives a rare insight into all aspects of archives: from their utility to preservation. The author has divided the book into two parts: one devoted to the importance of archives and the second to their preservation.

Archive is a specialised institution going beyond the utility of a library. Due to low literacy level in our country, most of the people are ignorant about the utility of archives. Moreover, the main stress is on food, clothing and shelter than on understanding the cultural legacy.

Though the situation is different in the developed world, quoting Syamalendu Sengupta: "Enough visitors do not come to the National Archives of India to have a glimpse of the Constitution of India, but in Britain, the Census Office of the Public Record Office, having 200 microfilm machines, remains booked almost throughout summer."

Records are by-products of administration and the documents of ancient and medieval periods help us to know the politico-socio-legal atmosphere of our country. Kautilya’s Arthshastra mentions lekheka, who would put down royal orders in writing and Abul Fazl’s Ain-i-Akbari gives an account of the Mughal archives.

Record management and attempts to popularise archives to take the masses closer to their heritage and culture are ignored domains in our country. Sengupta discusses the Canada model for managing records and we feel the difference. As it has become a specialised field, the author highlights various courses available in India to become an archivist. The book also includes code of ethics issued by The International Council on Archives (ICA) for budding archivists.

The second part of the book is about maintenance of records for their longer life. Their preservation, restoration, materials to be preserved and how, causes of their decay, etc. have been discussed in detail. With the revolution in information technology, data is now preserved in the electronic form. Various types of electronic record, how the data in analog form is digitised and its limitations, too, find space in the book. This section can prove to be very helpful to all aspiring archivists.

Sengupta’s message in the book is quite clear and he fully understands the intellectual capacity of Indians. The book is written in such a style that even a layman can understand it. Case studies of the state of archives in developed nations highlight their intellectual maturity as well as better infrastructure. And among the developing countries, an entire chapter is devoted to China, since the foundation of the first historical archives in 1925.

This book is for everyone who boasts of rich Indian culture and heritage. And it will help in ending intellectual bankruptcy among the literates.

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