Featured Collections: Arcadia Project

Featured Collections: Arcadia Project

The Archives at NCBS (https://archives.ncbs.res.in/) is a public centre for the history of science in contemporary India. Over 350,000 processed objects across 50+ collections are in various forms, ranging from paper-based manuscripts to negatives to photographs, books, fine art, audio recordings, scientific equipment, letters, and field and lab notes. The 2000-square-feet state-of-the-art physical centre at NCBS includes space for research, processing, exhibitions, recording, and a leading-edge storage facility with monitors for temperature, light, humidity, air quality, water, fire, pests, and noise. The Archives has one underlying philosophy—of enabling diverse stories—and operates on four broad verticals. One is to strengthen research collections and access in the history of science in contemporary India. The second is to push the frontiers of research in archival sciences in India, forging intersections with scholarship in law, ethics, information theory and the semantic web, for instance. The third is to build capacity and public awareness through education, training and programming, from high school to professional practice. And the fourth: to reimagine the archives as part of the commons through vibrant public engagement.

In early 2025, the Archives at NCBS completed two years of its grant from Arcadia toward "Documenting the Contemporary History of Science in India". The intent of the grant is to collect, preserve and make available online endangered cultural artefacts related to the contemporary (~200 years) history of science in India. We have processed more than 200,000 digital objects and 100 interview sessions from across over 40 collections, with a specific emphasis (or attempt!) starting in 2024 on under-represented communities in science. These archives cover 140 years of science history from various corners of India, and bring together stories from individual lives, environmental movements, socio-cultural and global geopolitical events.

The project continues through early 2026, with a shift in focus to other branches in the sciences, developing digital prototype tools for sustained and diverse interpretation and access through linked open data and public annotation of archival material, and a re-granting programme to allow the development of smaller archives across India (https://archives.ncbs.res.in/past). Arcadia is a charitable foundation that works to protect nature, preserve cultural heritage and promote open access to knowledge. Since 2002 Arcadia has awarded more than $1 billion to organizations around the world.

The collections featured below have been collected, processed, and made available through generous support from Arcadia. For a complete list of all our processed material, please visit the central collections page.