Depleting Archives and Disintegrating Histories

Speaker : Ms. Shilpi Rajpal, PhD Scholar, Department of History, University of Delhi.

About Topic : The proposed talk is based on personal experiences of the researcher in various archives and libraries of India. It was her doctoral research that brought her face to face with the working of the Indian archives. The Public Record Act which was passed in 1993 regulates the management, administration and preservation of public records. The talk will highlight weaknesses in the Public Record Act in dealing with present scenario. The Researcher believes that various government departments have little clue regarding the preservation and maintenance of the valuable historical documents that are being look after by them. The art of conserving, classifying and weeding out of these documents largely remains unknown to most of them. It would not be an exaggeration to state that the Indian archives are facing a deep crisis as far the maintenance of its public records is concerned. The talk reveals the dismal condition of archives in India. It further seeks new ways i.e. what more needs to be done in order to preserve the documental legacy of India.

About Speaker : Ms. Shilpi Rajpal is PhD Scholar in the Department of History, University of Delhi. At present, she is in final phase of her thesis writing entitled ‘Madness and Delinquency in Colonial North India’ 1850-1947’. She was awarded the University Teaching Assistantship in 2009 for the period of four years in the University of Delhi. She has also taught as a Guest Lecturer in Department of Germanic and Romance Studies, Arts Faculty, University of Delhi (August 2007 – March 2009). She has presented papers in several national and International Conferences.