HYDERABAD: Bhisham Sahani in his book, Tamas writes, `Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it'.

One sure way of forgetting our history is to neglect age-old archives and documents that act as repositories of public memory.

It would be an understatement to say that very few people are aware of an institution called the Andhra Pradesh State Archives and Research Institute.

Established in 1894 under the name, Daftar-I-Diwani under the Nizam's government, this institute, that stands guardian of crucial documents and records dating as far back as the Bahamani rule, is in a dilapidated condition, with barely six research scholars visiting it every day.

Asked why few research scholars come here, Assistant Archivist, R.Ranjana explains that it is because of the declining interest in history and in primary sources.

"In summer, the desks are occupied. But when there are competitive examinations, scholars don't come frequently. Sometimes, JNTU students and Kakatiya University students come here on projects", she says.

She adds that the State Archives is badly understaffed. "Besides, we need modern technology. Though we have a microfilm reader, things like fumigation chambers, hand lamination and bookbinding are hardly enough. The rooms are not even air-conditioned, a basic need for preserving old and brittle documents"

Fund factor

Though the Deputy Director of the Institute, Zareena Parveen says that digitisation of the documents and the library is on, she says it is progressing at a slow pace owing to the paucity of funds. "Earlier, we used to get funds from national schemes. But these stopped coming in 2002. We are now running totally on State funds."

In 2002, she says, the State Archives was receiving Rs. 20 lakhs. Now it has come to Rs. 5.10 lakhs a year. Considering that we have all kinds of ancient records, from Farmans and Sanads of the Deccan Sultans, to Mughal documents, to Madras Presidency and Secretariat records to documents pertaining to the Asaf Jahi rule, the Government should invest more in us, she says.

One of the reasons that the Archives are not receiving funds is the fact that they are not a revenue-earning department, says Assistant Director, Ramakrishna. Research scholar, Syed Azamul Hussaini attributes the poor condition of the institute to the minimal staff working here. "Unless there are more people who are familiar with the terms and terminology of the Nizam's records, they will not be able to do justice to the institute," he says.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail