The Ravenshaw university authorities have stumbled upon some rare documents of the ancient college, which was founded in 1868, in the record room. The authorities have managed to dig out files more than a hundred years old from the record room of the college and have started measures to preserve these age-old documents by digitizing them.
"Once the records are digitized, we will be in a better position to access these rare documents. These age-old records are of much importance as they provide a lot of information of historical value. Be it the education system of the time or the governance pattern during the British rule, the documents throw light on many relevant aspects of history," saidUmankant Mishra, professor of history at the varsity.
These precious documents unearthed at Ravenshaw University include - a copy of the notification issued to recruit Indian soldiers for World War I; details of the All-India College Students' Conference held at Nagpur in 1920, prior to the Non-cooperation movement; the extraordinary gazette notification issued to all states to raise funds for World War I; brochures citing the rules and regulations of the Indian Civil Services exam of 1918; the exam and education pattern followed in Ravenshaw College in 1918.
The varsity not just plans to preserve the documents for future reference, but is also planning to archive them in a museum. "We have taken measures to preserve the documents and also plan to open a museum showcasing them. These age-old documents are a treasure for us. They provide a lot of important, historical information and can be resourceful for students in research work," saidDevdas Chhotray, vice-chancellor of the varsity.
A special team of historians has been formed to carry out the preservation work. In the first phase, the team has managed to sort out the record papers from the year 1918 to 1921. "A resource person of the National Archive is also helping us in the project. We have identified around 300 rare documents and measures are being taken to scan and laminate them," said Mishra.
According to historians, the Ravenshaw College was part of the British colonial structure, so a copy of every document related to the colony and Orissa was also preserved here. Initially, the officials are taking measures to sort out the documents from 1918 to 1955. "There are over 20,000 such files and records in the record room. We are going through each of the documents thoroughly and picking out the important ones. It is a tough job but we are trying to complete the work at the earliest," said Mishra.
Though the college was founded in 1868, till now no documents of that time have been found in the record room. "The present college building was constructed in 1922; prior to this, Ravenshaw College was functioning at the collegiate school. Hence, chances are some of the documents might have been displaced during the shifting process. Also, two fire mishaps had occurred on the college premises in the past, so some of the documents might have destroyed by the fires," said Mishra.
The university has started the project with its own funds for now, but once the sorting of the document is finished the authorities would ask for funds from the state and also from the National Archives for this unique project, informed a varsity official.
"Once the records are digitized, we will be in a better position to access these rare documents. These age-old records are of much importance as they provide a lot of information of historical value. Be it the education system of the time or the governance pattern during the British rule, the documents throw light on many relevant aspects of history," saidUmankant Mishra, professor of history at the varsity.
These precious documents unearthed at Ravenshaw University include - a copy of the notification issued to recruit Indian soldiers for World War I; details of the All-India College Students' Conference held at Nagpur in 1920, prior to the Non-cooperation movement; the extraordinary gazette notification issued to all states to raise funds for World War I; brochures citing the rules and regulations of the Indian Civil Services exam of 1918; the exam and education pattern followed in Ravenshaw College in 1918.
The varsity not just plans to preserve the documents for future reference, but is also planning to archive them in a museum. "We have taken measures to preserve the documents and also plan to open a museum showcasing them. These age-old documents are a treasure for us. They provide a lot of important, historical information and can be resourceful for students in research work," saidDevdas Chhotray, vice-chancellor of the varsity.
A special team of historians has been formed to carry out the preservation work. In the first phase, the team has managed to sort out the record papers from the year 1918 to 1921. "A resource person of the National Archive is also helping us in the project. We have identified around 300 rare documents and measures are being taken to scan and laminate them," said Mishra.
According to historians, the Ravenshaw College was part of the British colonial structure, so a copy of every document related to the colony and Orissa was also preserved here. Initially, the officials are taking measures to sort out the documents from 1918 to 1955. "There are over 20,000 such files and records in the record room. We are going through each of the documents thoroughly and picking out the important ones. It is a tough job but we are trying to complete the work at the earliest," said Mishra.
Though the college was founded in 1868, till now no documents of that time have been found in the record room. "The present college building was constructed in 1922; prior to this, Ravenshaw College was functioning at the collegiate school. Hence, chances are some of the documents might have been displaced during the shifting process. Also, two fire mishaps had occurred on the college premises in the past, so some of the documents might have destroyed by the fires," said Mishra.
The university has started the project with its own funds for now, but once the sorting of the document is finished the authorities would ask for funds from the state and also from the National Archives for this unique project, informed a varsity official.
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