NCBS archives receive $440,000 grant to collect, preserve history of science in contemporary India

The Archives plans to collect, preserve and digitize artefacts, including manuscripts, photographs, oral testimonies and histories of individuals and groups who have played a vital role in the development and dissemination of knowledge and practices in ecology and conservation.

Letters and checklists of birds, SD002-Zafar Futehally papers. From the archives of National Centre for Biological Sciences | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

A letter from Ashok Kumar Sharma to Zafar Futehally, dated September 19, 1980. Attached is a handwritten check-list of birds of Jaipur. SD002-1-3-1-2, Zafar Futehally papers, Archives at NCBS. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The Archives at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) received a $440,000 grant from Arcadia for a project titled ‘Documenting the Contemporary History of Science in India’.

The Archives at NCBS is a space dedicated to the history of science in contemporary India. The three-year US$440,000 project at the Archives, which started in December 2022, aims to collect, preserve and make available online endangered cultural artefacts pertaining to the contemporary (~200 years) history of science in the country.

“The Archives was started with a vision of being a place where we could maintain an archive of scientific lives and trajectories, achievements, discussions and dialogues around the life sciences in the country, (which) could be useful for researchers in the future,” said Prof. Satyajit Mayor, Centre Director, NCBS.

Arcadia is a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin. It supports charities and scholarly institutions that preserve cultural heritage and the environment. Since 2002, it has awarded more than $1 billion to projects around the world.

The Archives plans to collect, preserve and digitize artefacts, including manuscripts, photographs, oral testimonies and histories of individuals and groups who have played a vital role in the development and dissemination of knowledge and practices in ecology and conservation. The first year of the project focuses on diverse histories of ecology and conservation, including indigenous communities and organizations involved in grass-roots conservation. This focus will subsequently be expanded in the second year to include other scientific fields under the umbrella of the project.

In line with Arcadia’s commitment towards diversity, equity and inclusion, the Archives also intends to make the archival data accessible to a larger audience, via open-source platforms.