1.28 million pages of rare Assamese texts digitised in 3 years

Guwahati, Jan. 13: In a significant development, more than 1.28 million pages of rare Assamese literature have been digitized in the last 36 months under the Digitizing Assam initiative.

This task took 1,095 man-days using three scanner machines. All the digitized content is now available on the website assamarchive.org free of cost.

A community project being jointly undertaken by the Nanda Talukdar Foundation (NTF) and the Assam Jatiya Bidyalay Educational and Socio-Economic Trust, technical support to the project is being provided by Bohniman Systems pro bono. It is also being assisted by Asam Sahitya Sabha, Dibrugarh University, Government of Assam, Oil India Ltd, NRL, North Lakhimpur College and Royal Global University.

Addressing a press conference, Mrinal Talukdar of NTF said, "The digitized collection includes journals, manuscripts and books published between 1840 and 1970, focusing on works written in Sanskrit, Tai and Assamese languages. It includes 26,000 Xasipats, with content spanning topics such as Vaishnavism, Buddhism and ancient Assamese customs. The initiative has so far covered 41,071 issues of 496 journals and 33,970 books of different genres."

The digitized repository includes nearly all editions of Orunodoi, alongside other rare publications such as Bahi, Abahan, Ramdhenu, etc.

"This resource is a vital asset for archival and research purposes, ensuring the preservation of Assam's literary heritage for future generation. The digitized content is accessible through the platform assamarchive.org, which has been designed to provide a seamless and user-friendly experience. The platform's intuitive interface enables users to explore rare materials conveniently from the comfort of their homes, bridging the gap between Assam's literary treasures and the global community," Talukdar said.

With the successful completion of the first phase, the project will now focus on searchability using OCR-AI technology. This will allow the extraction of keywords from each page, enabling advanced search capabilities for users.

"This innovation promises to revolutionize how Assamese literature is accessed and studied, making it a truly global resource. However, the implementation of this cutting-edge technology requires substantial funding and collaboration," he said.

The NTF and the AJB Educational and Socio-Economic Trust called for support from the public and organisations to continue the project, stating that it requires sustained funding and technological expertise. They also invited individuals and organisations to contribute scanned images of rare journals and books.

Digitization of the collections of the Kamarupa Anusandhana Samiti library located in the city will start from April 1.

Dr Narayan Sharma of the AJB Educational and Socio-Economic Trust also spoke about different aspects of the project.

- By Staff Reporter