Coventry University Digitises Post-Partition India's Rich History

Coventry University leads a digitisation project for 20,000 post-Partition Indian documents, housed in Mumbai's Hamilton Studios. Spanning nearly 100 years, the initiative aims to preserve cultural narratives and historical records, inspired by Coventry Digital. Collaborations include the National Institute for Design and support from UCLA’s Modern Endangered Archives Programme.

Coventry University in the UK is spearheading a new research initiative to digitise around 20,000 images, prints, and documents from the two decades following India's Partition in 1947. The collection is housed at Hamilton Studios in Mumbai and encompasses over 600,000 objects that span nearly a century of Indian history, according to a statement released by the university on Tuesday.

The digitisation effort focuses on the period until 1967, capturing the history of the Indian subcontinent's division into India and Pakistan post-British colonial rule. This project draws inspiration from Coventry Digital, an online repository featuring more than 70,000 local images, videos, and documents.

"The success of Coventry Digital has demonstrated the power of digital technology in preserving and sharing cultural narratives," said Project Lead Ben Kyneswood, Associate Professor of Digital Heritage and Culture at Coventry University's Research Centre for Creative Economies. "I am eager to extend this legacy to the preservation of India's cultural heritage, ensuring that future generations have access to these invaluable historical records," he added.

Kyneswood will work closely with Hamilton Studios and the National Institute for Design (NID) in Ahmedabad to digitise the extensive Partition materials. The project aims to bridge historical divides, promote cultural preservation, and shed light on how the Partition continues to influence the stories of India and its people.

Among the collection are passport photographs, glass and celluloid negatives, test prints, invoices, legal documents, and advertisements, offering a detailed look into the era's photographic techniques, economic conditions, and marketing strategies. The project also captures diverse experiences, including the lives of maharajas, weddings, celebrations, business tycoons, and vibrant street scenes.

This initiative is supported by the Modern Endangered Archives Programme at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Library, with funding from Arcadia, a charitable foundation committed to protecting nature, preserving cultural heritage, and promoting open access to knowledge.

(With inputs from agencies.)