Khalsa College’s 83 years old Sikh Library and Museum Goes Digital

       Khalsa College Governing Council President Satyajit Singh Majithia and honourary secretary Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina   inaugurating the digitization work at Khalsa College’s Sikh History and Museum Department

Amritsar, July 5 ( Dharminder Rataul)- Hundreds of rare books, manuscripts and hand-written documents belonging to Sikh Guru’s time and Punjab’s rich cultural heritage at the 83-year-old Sikh Research Library and Museum in historic Khalsa College, has been digitized. The material has been put into digital technology through computerization following a rigorous six-month long digitization processing by a Jalandhar based private company.  Khalsa College Governing Council President Sardar Satyajit Singh Majithia said who inaugurated the digitization work today said the effort was meant for restoration and preservation of the precious material for the future generations. He says by using the latest technology the books and manuscripts in library had been restored and in the next phase the Museum’s photographs would also be preserved through digitization. The Sikh Research Library was established in 1930 and is a treasure trove of the historical documents dating back to the 16^th and 17^th century. It houses more than 6274 books, which include rare books in English and Punjabi and there are hundreds of manuscripts and documents in Urdu, Sanskrit and Persian also, apart from newspaper and magazine as old as 1904 and some of the books are available only here. “All the material except some newspapers had been digitized’’, said Majithia. He said there are weapons belonging to the times of Khalsa Army and other Sikh Wars besides the old coins of Sikh era. “It is a treasure house of Sikh history and culture. Hundreds of students use the documents for their research activities’’, said Majithia who unveiled the project of digitization, flanked by KCGC vice President Charanjit Singh Cahdha and honourary secretary Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina.

   Chhina said they had planned to preserve all the rare documents and books in the museum by using the digital technology and the work on the project is almost complete. He said there are two Birs of Guru Granth Sahib which are hand-written and the newspapers of early 20th century in library are also a major attraction for the students and researchers. KCGC’s additional honourary secretary Swinder Singh Kathunangal, SS Abdal, SS Mannan, Ajmer Singh Heir, Principal Dr.Mehal Singh. Principal JS Dhillon, Principal Dr.Sukhbir Kaur Mahal and others were present.