Over 70,000 adult students to join archival survey in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala will soon undertake a state-wide survey to trace and conserve rare archival documents and historical remnants that remain neglected and unnoticed. Significantly, the unique drive, initiated by the Kerala Literacy Mission, will be carried out with the assistance of over 70,000 adult students, who are pursuing equivalency classes under the Mission.

Equivalency programmes are organised with a view to provide an alternative education that is equivalent to the existing formal system of education, be it related to formal or vocational education.

Rare letters and books, palm leaf manuscripts, 'sasanas' (ancient doctrines) and hand-written documents of historical importance, yet to be recovered, are envisaged to be identified through the comprehensive drive.

Besides the preservation of the neglected archival records, the survey is also aimed at compiling the local history of state. The Mission will launch the survey on May 2 with the support of State Archives Department.

Literacy Mission director P S Sreekala said the drive is carried out as part of its social literacy programme. Over 70,000 adult students, who pursue the equivalency programmes of the Mission, will be given expert training to carry out the state-wide initiative, she said. "A large collection of palm leaf manuscripts and 'vattezhuthu' and 'kolezhuthu' (ancient Malayalam scripts)" documents are still in the hands of private individuals in the state," Sreekala told PTI.

"Our objective is to collect details about such rare documents and hand over it to the Archives Department," she said. Survey teams, comprising trained volunteers, would be deployed across the state, irrespective of cities and villages to carry out the drive.
Special meetings would be conducted at the Mission's study centres to familiarise the volunteers about the survey forum and directives.

"We hope that the records we come across will be useful in compiling the local history of the respective places. Along with the academic history, we need to compile the popular history of the state also," Sreekala said.

The survey inputs would be compiled at the Literacy Mission's study centres on May 31.A state-wide survey report is expected to be submitted to the Archives Department on June 10, the official added.