Ashoka Reflections_May 2023

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The Archives of Contemporary India at Ashoka came into being in January 2017 and upholds world-class

standards in archiving the recent past of the country. This requires us to preserve documents from India's

recent past since independence and in doing so make them available to scholars and students alike who hope

we all be informed better for the future. Unlike the National Archives of India or the State level in the different

states of the Indian Union, our focus is not on the government but on private papers. We focus mainly on

post-1947 on independent and emerging India. Ours is a broad canvas from civil society to journalism, the

women's movement and environment, and the worlds of literature and science.

Most international Universities such as Oxford or Princeton, Yale or Harvard house archives. We aspire to the

standards of the best and also to become a vital educational resource for the Ashoka community and beyond.

Our collection is built on contributions that are placed here not only because they will be preserved for

posterity but also accessible to scholars as per norms and rules of archives.

C O V E R S T O R Y

Ashoka Reflections | Page 05

The collection sheds light on matters great and small. For instance, the papers of the philosopher and

educationist, Dr S. Radhakrishnan India's first Vice President and second President include rare materials. These

include letters from all who contributed to the volume he edited on Gandhiji's 70th birthday, even one from Jan

Smuts who had been the latter's adversary in South Africa. The photos and documentary collections of the late

Captain Lakshmi have insight into the first ever women's regiment of the Indian National Army and much more

on her long and distinguished life. The papers acquired recently by scholar diplomat K.S. Bajpai pertain to

diplomacy and international relations dating back to the Indo-Pak conflict and Tashkent Talks.

The great playwright and veteran actor, Girish Karnad’s drafts and works are here with a doyen of Hindi

literature: Agyeya, donated recently by the Vatsal Nidhi trust. Most recently, Sai Paranjpye, a famous

screenwriter and movie director has agreed to archive her life’s work with us.

Environment and ecology is a particular area of focus. The Chandi Prasad Bhatt collection takes us to the early

years of the Chipko movement. The Divyabhanusinh papers have the early records of debate on the

reintroduction of the cheetah, an event that earlier this year made world headlines.

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