Digitisation begins at Prayagraj regional archives with rare Duncan documents
According to Rakesh Kumar Verma, technical assistant at the regional archives department, the documents in the Duncan series date from 1785 to1795 and have been preserved in the office.
The process of digitising centuries-old rare documents preserved in the regional archives department here in Prayagraj has started, with the Uttar Pradesh Development System Corporation Limited (UPDESCO) being entrusted with the task.
As part of the task planned in a phased manner, over a thousand volumes of the records of Jonathan Duncan, who was a resident of East India Company in the court of Raja of Banaras, will be digitised in the first phase.
According to Rakesh Kumar Verma, technical assistant at the regional archives department, the documents in the Duncan series date from 1785 to1795 and have been preserved in the office.
At present, barcodes have been installed on over a hundred documents of Duncan report. In the first phase, a total of 1,284 volumes of the report will be digitised by the end of this year. Thereafter, the work of installing barcodes on other documents will begin in the second phase, Verma said.
It may be mentioned that the East India Company had appointed Duncan as a resident to monitor the administration in the court of Raja of Banaras. Through his administrative office, he had prepared documents about the market system of Banaras, sources of revenue and development of old towns in that period.
Ghulam Sarwar, incharge of the regional archives, said UPDESCO has started the work of digitisation. “We are trying to complete the first phase of digitisation in the current financial year,” he added.
