The Panjab Languages Department has made history by becoming the first Government department in Panjab to get its Manuscripts Section digitized. The project was done in collaboration with The Nanakshahi Trust. The project commenced on 13 June, 2006 with signing of a MOU, commemorating the 400th martyrdom anniversary of Guru Arjan Sahib whose life and contributions from the `sabad' to `shahadat' exemplify his God-like  persona.

Nanakshahi undertook to digitize all the 604 manuscripts comprising about 2,82,000 pages. The project was a voluntary service by Nanakshahi to the Languages Department, without any monetary obligation on the Department's behalf.

Manuscripts digitized are from 17th to 19th century. They include manuscripts of Guru Granth Sahib, Bhagvat Geeta, Bachitar Natak, Dasam Granth, Tuzuk-e-Jahangiri, manuscripts of Panjabi folk lore and literature and few medical manuscripts. Few manuscripts were illustrated with beautiful miniatures.

Chetan Singh, Deputy Director of the Language Department stated that "the department had made a proposal for the digitization of the manuscript section way back, but it didn't materialize due to financial constraints. We are happy that our long cherished desire has finally come to realization. Language Department is the first
department of Panjab to take digitization on such a scale. He further added that "the Trust will also create a complete searchable metadata of all the manuscripts, which will help in the effective creation of a Digital Database of all the manuscripts and a digital library later."

Since its inception, the Nanakshahi trust has been a strong proponent of collaborative work, a key to enormous possibilities in the field of digitization to help in education, research, and inter-cultural interactions. Davinder Pal Singh, co-founder of the trust, remarks: "Continuing on its mission with dedicated pursuit, we envision a series of Public Digital Libraries in the northern region by tapping human and other resources from the entire region. Nanakshahi will also assist Languages Department in launching a digital library. We invite
everyone to play a role in assuring that invaluable heritage is aptly preserved for the generations to come, be it for research or public awareness."

Amongst the other major projects completed to-date is the digitization of Manuscript sections of Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh and Kurukshetra University.

"To date, Nanakshahi has been instrumental in preserving over 8,10,000 folios in just over three years," added Surender Pal Singh, the Virsa Project coordinator. With genuine concern for preserving the heritage, this venture is purely meant to save the legacy with a clearly pronounced non-profit agenda. Nanakshahi has been providing this service to individuals and institutions pro bono.

###

The Nanakshahi Trust is a non-profit organization that seeks to preserve and promote the culture of the Panjab. Activities undertaken by Nanakshahi encourage aesthetics exploration, community education,
and cultural collaborative. At the core of Nanakshahi is creating an environment for solution-oriented dialogue. Towards that end, Nanakshahi facilitates research and development that enriches the experiential journey.