Assam State Archives: Digital Archiving of Files Since the Pre-British Raj Underway

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: Lakhs of office files, government reports, old maps, gazette notifications, etc., of Assam and other northeastern states, right from the pre-British Raj, have been scientifically preserved in the Assam State Archives.

According to GAD (General Administration Department) Minister Ranjeet Kumar Dass, research scholars from the USA, the UK, Australia, France, Sweden, Japan, Singapore, etc., keep coming to Assam for research materials in the digital archive. The digitization of the documents is still going on.

Dass said that as many as 4.50 lakh government files from 1774 to 2000, 31,000 government reports from 1874, around 5,000 maps from 1869, and India, Calcutta, and Assam Gazette notifications from 1860 to 1992 have been preserved in the archive. The digitization of the around 5,000 old maps has been completed. "We have entrusted AMTRON to digitize the files and reports," he said.

Dass further said, "Since the districts do not have branches of the Assam State Archive, the old files and records kept in the DC offices of Jorhat, Dhubri, Nagaon, Nalbari, etc., are being sent to Dispur."

Till 2012, the Assam State Archive was in a dismal state. A group of historians approached the then Principal Secretary to the Assam Government, Jishnu Baruah, and discussed the matter of preservation of the old files and records in a scientific manner. Jishnu Barua took the initiative, trained the staff, renovated the building, and started the process of digital preservation of the files.

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