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TEZPUR: The Department of Assamese, Tezpur University, organised a five-day workshop on ‘Reading Pre-Modern Manuscripts and Textual Criticism’ from August 26 to 31. The workshop concluded on Monday with a valedictory programme held at the Council Hall of the University.
Addressing the valedictory programme, Prof Ashim Jyoti Thakur, Dean, Academic Affairs, Tezpur University, spoke about the historical reasons behind the choice of Sanchipat by earlier generations as a medium for documenting and transmitting knowledge.
Dr Lynn Ransom, Curator of Programmes, Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies, University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Philadelphia, the special speaker at the session, delivered an online lecture. Her participation added an international and digital-humanities perspective to the workshop.
Prof Chandan Kumar Sharma, Dean, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, emphasised that manuscript studies require a multidisciplinary approach. He observed that considerable attention and resources have been devoted to preserving knowledge traditions in the West, whereas the preservation of indigenous knowledge systems in India has not received comparable attention or investment.
Mrinal Talukdar, noted writer-journalist and Project Lead, Digitising Assam, highlighted the importance of the Digitising Assam initiative, which seeks to digitally preserve Assamese books, journals, manuscripts, and other archival materials and provide wider access to them. He emphasised that digitisation and preservation should not remain confined to academic institutions.
Prof Binita Bora Dev Choudhury, Head, Department of Assamese, highlighted the department’s commitment to strengthening manuscript studies as part of its academic programme.
Dr Rajtaranginee, Lecturer at the District Institute of Education and Training, Nalbari, served as the resource person for the workshop. She delivered a series of lectures to the students of Tezpur University on various aspects of Assam’s Sanchipatiya manuscripts, including their scripts, manuscript-making materials, preservation methods, etc.
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