The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Exhibition to provide a peep into State’s past

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Wednesday, Feb 06, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Exhibition to provide a peep into State’s past

Special Correspondent

It will be held at the Banquet Hall of the Vidhana Soudha
Aim is to create awareness on archival records

BANGALORE: The Karnataka State Archives will hold a three-day exhibition at the Banquet Hall of the Vidhana Soudha from Wednesday.

The Karnataka State Archives, established in 1973 to preserve documents of historical, religious, political and cultural importance, is holding the exhibition to create awareness among people about the relevance of archival documentation. The Department of Archives is currently housed on the ground floor of the Vidhana Soudha.

Addressing presspersons here on Tuesday, I.M. Vittala Murthy, Secretary, Kannada and Culture, and Information and Tourism, said Governor Rameshwar Thakur would inaugurate the exhibition at 11 a.m. on Wednesday. S. Krishna Kumar, adviser to the Governor, and Chief Secretary P.B. Mahishi would participate as guests.

Mr. Murthy said the archives could be accessed by research students, scholars, experts and those involved in litigation. The department offered facilities such as microfilming, photocopying and use of the library.

Many facilities

People were unaware of the facilities available at the department, and only a few scholars had been utilising the archives. With the enforcement of the Right to Information Act, the archives have become an important source for resolving property-related disputes in Bangalore city, he said.

The Karnataka State Archives contains source material on the history of Mysore, including the period of British rule in Mysore State, visits of kings and princes from Britain, freedom fighters, national and State leaders. The oldest available record is the agreement between Tipu Sultan and the British on the surrender of Srirangapatna after the war between the two sides in 1799. Regular records of various government departments are kept in the archives. The department has brought nearly 20,000 records related to the State from neighbouring States, he said.

Karnataka State Archives Director Usha Suresh said nearly 50 per cent of the records had been computerised. Over 20 lakh historical and private papers/documents had been digitized. The department has been allotted Rs. 3 crore under the 12th Finance Commission, and the funds would be utilised for the computerisation of records. Microfilm copies and photocopies of all documents were available for a fee, Ms. Suresh said.

The exhibition will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

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