Over 1.28 million pages of Assamese manuscripts digitized

Assam: Over 1.28 million pages of rare Assamese manuscripts, journals, and books has been completed digitization.

Narayan Sharma, president of the Assam Jatiya Bidyalay (AJB) Educational and Socio-Economic Trust, described this 36-month-long endeavour as a crucial step in preserving and promoting Assam's rich literary heritage.

The digitized collection includes 26,000 'Xasipats' and manuscripts on Vaishnavism, Buddhism, and Assamese traditions.

Sharma noted that this digital archive serves as a valuable resource for researchers, students, and the global Assamese community, offering Assam's timeless legacy a new voice through modern technology.

This project resulted from a joint collaboration between the Nanda Talukdar Foundation (NTF) and the AJB Educational and Socio-Economic Trust, with support from Asam Sahitya Sabha, Dibrugarh University, and corporate partners such as Oil India Limited, NRL, and ONGC.

The digitized materials feature nearly all editions of "Orundoi," Assam's first magazine, along with other significant publications like "Bahi," "Abahan," and "Ramdhenu."

The repository also contains 33,970 books and 41,071 journal issues, all available for free access.

The second phase of the project will incorporate OCR-AI technology, enabling keyword-based advanced searches to further enhance accessibility for researchers and scholars, according to NTF secretary Mrinal Talukdar.