The Prime Ministers’ Museum and Library (PMML) has launched a comprehensive digitisation project of its vast and rare archival collection, the Ministry of Culture announced on Saturday. This landmark initiative
is designed to achieve the dual objectives of ensuring the long-term preservation of fragile historical documents and significantly enhancing remote access for genuine research scholars worldwide. The PMML, housed at the historic Teen Murti Bhavan, is a premier national institution dedicated to preserving and showcasing the legacy of all Prime Ministers of India since Independence.
The collection undergoing digitisation is immense, comprising over 25 million documents belonging to more than 1,300 individuals and organisations pivotal to modern and contemporary Indian history. This material includes irreplaceable personal papers, correspondence, seminal speeches, private diaries, and newspaper articles, which are regularly consulted by bona fide historians and scholars. The digitisation effort is a crucial measure against the natural degradation of these paper-based records, safeguarding them for future generations.
To facilitate the remote access component, the PMML has developed a dedicated, secure IT platform for its new Digital Archives. A substantial portion of the most frequently requested material has already been digitised, uploaded, and made available through this new system. Registered scholars may now submit online requests for specific archival documents without the mandatory need to physically visit the PMML premises in New Delhi. Once an online request is approved, the material is securely made available on the scholar’s desktop in a strictly view-only format.
According to PMML Director Ashwani Lohani, this transformative project marks a significant milestone in leveraging technology to enhance accessibility and reflects the institution’s commitment to promoting high-quality research. By removing geographical barriers, the initiative aims to strengthen the study of modern India’s historical and political evolution, allowing more global scholars to contribute to the field directly from their respective locations. The launch of the PMML’s Digital Archives is poised to revolutionise how historical research on India’s post-independence journey is conducted.
