Literacy mission on a historical quest

Over 70,000 people attending the Kerala State Literacy Mission Authority’s (KSLMA) Class 10 and higher secondary equivalency courses will be on a new mission now. From May 2 they will scour various parts of the State to gather data for a survey, a joint initiative of the KSLMA and the Archives Department. The survey is being launched as part of an extensive effort to trace, catalogue, restore, and preserve rare manuscripts. According to KSLMA officials, the survey will help unearth records from all regions, including rural outskirts. Valuable historic records, including those in most ancient scripts such as Vattezhuthu and Kolezhuthu, have often been found in private collections. Even the Archives Department lacks proper information regarding such documents.

“We plan to identify these records and remnants through this survey, which is part of the KSLMA’s social literacy programme,” said Director P.S. Sreekala.

Single individuals or teams of two or three will be deployed to collect the details. Each adult student who is part of the survey is required to find at least one document of historic relevance. They will be given the basic details and the forms needed for the survey. The volunteers will be briefed on documents of historical value and what all qualifies in the category such as letters, manuscripts, palm leaf manuscripts, sasanas, and books.

Prior to the survey, meetings will be convened at all equivalency course centres to guide the volunteers. The survey will be wrapped up by May 20 and then the centres will move forward to the compilation of collected data. The KSLMA will hand over the State-level report of the survey to the Archives Department on June 10.