Revolutionizing Access to Assamese Literature: A Digital Legacy

Over 1.28 million rare Assamese manuscripts, journals, and books have been digitized, marking a key milestone in preserving Assamese literature. A collaboration between AJB Trust and NTF, the project involves significant digitalization support from educational institutions and corporations, ensuring global access with plans to incorporate OCR-AI technology for advanced research.

In an effort to preserve and promote the rich cultural heritage of Assam, over 1.28 million pages of rare manuscripts, journals, and books written in Assamese have been digitized. This project is described as a milestone achievement by Narayan Sharma, president of the Assam Jatiya Bidyalay (AJB) Educational and Socio-Economic Trust.

Carried out over a span of 36 months, the digitization project is a collaboration between the Nanda Talukdar Foundation (NTF) and the AJB Educational and Socio-Economic Trust, with additional backing from Asam Sahitya Sabha, Dibrugarh University, and leading corporations like Oil India Limited, NRL, and ONGC. Among the digitized collections are important literary works such as 26,000 'Xasipats', manuscripts on Vaishnavism, Buddhism, and Assam's cultural traditions.

The extensive archive, featuring nearly all editions of 'Orundoi', Assam's inaugural magazine, along with other significant publications like 'Bahi', 'Abahan', and 'Ramdhenu', is now accessible globally without charge. Moving forward, the second phase of the project aims to integrate advanced OCR-AI technology, which promises to facilitate keyword-based searches, revolutionizing access for researchers and scholars worldwide, according to Mrinal Talukdar, NTF secretary.

(With inputs from agencies.)