Delhi Archives begins digitisation of Mughal era records

Delhiites will soon be able to see what 'farmans' and 'sanads' given by Mughal rulers looked like or who acquired the land in prime Lutyen's Delhi at the very beginning. All this, and more will be now part of the Delhi government's latest project under which four crore archival pages will be digitised and microfilmed in a period of 30 months.

The Delhi Archives has a rich collection of records from year 1803 to 1990 and other major record series such as the trial of last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, and photos of freedom fighters, old heritage buildings and archaeological sites of the city. Inaugurating the project on Thursday, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said, "The Delhi Archives has nearly 10 crore pages of archival records. It is a unique project of the government in particular, and the first of its kind in Asia, under which a large number of archival records will be digitised and microfilmed." he claimed, adding the project will incur a cost of Rs 25.40 crore.

"The main objective is to encourage appreciation of archival heritage among the general public, and the main thrust is on facilitating the public in accessing the archival records with a click of a mouse," said Sisodia. According to the government, the other major record series kept at the Delhi Archives include, "farmans and sanads of Mughal ruler Shah Alam; records of the First War of Independence, 1857; land acquisition records for the Lutyens' Zone; infrastructure development record of British era such as establishment and expansion of railway, establishment of electricity and telephone departments, growth of education".

The archives also boast of power packed repository of major heritage buildings in the capital like the Legislative Assembly, Metcalfe House, Ludlow Castle, and Commissioner's Office.Several maps and plans of Delhi, gazette of governments of India, Punjab and Delhi, records of freedom fighters of Delhi, CID and waqf board records, maintenance of internal security records, conviction records of Central Jail, Tihar, and property registration records for the period 1870-1990 are also shelved at the Delhi Archives.Other treasures of the Archives include 300 400 years old manuscripts on Ayurveda, medicine and religion, the government said.

FOR THE RECORD

• Delhi Archives is a repository of non-current records of the government of Delhi and comes under its department of art and culture. Established in 1972, it preserves archives and makes them accessible to scholars, public at large and government officials for research and reference purposes.