Guwahati: More than 1.28 million pages of rare Assamese manuscripts, journals, and books have been successfully digitised, marking a major milestone in the preservation and promotion of Assamese literature.
Narayan Sharma, president of the Assam Jatiya Bidyalay (AJB) Educational and Socio-Economic Trust, highlighted the significance of this project, which was completed over the span of 36 months.
“This digital archive is an invaluable resource for researchers, students, and the global Assamese community,” Sharma remarked.
“It ensures the enduring legacy of Assam’s literature is safeguarded through the use of advanced technology,” he added.
The collection includes 26,000 ‘Xasipats’—manuscripts related to Vaishnavism, Buddhism, and Assamese cultural traditions.
The project was a joint initiative by the Nanda Talukdar Foundation (NTF) and the AJB Educational and Socio-Economic Trust, with support from institutions such as Asam Sahitya Sabha, Dibrugarh University, and corporations like Oil India Limited, NRL, and ONGC.
The digital repository features nearly every edition of Orundoi, Assam’s first magazine, along with other notable publications like Bahi, Abahan, and Ramdhenu.
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In total, the collection includes 33,970 books and 41,071 journal issues, all available for free access.
Looking ahead, the second phase of the project will incorporate OCR-AI technology, allowing for advanced keyword searches.
This upgrade is expected to transform how researchers and scholars engage with these valuable materials, said Mrinal Talukdar, secretary of NTF.
