Panjab Digital Library

Short description: Organization digitizing and preserving Punjab's cultural heritage

Panjab Digital Library

Type| Digital library
Established| 2003
Location| Chandigarh, Punjab, India
Collection
Items collected| Manuscripts, books, photographs, newspapers, magazines, sound recordings
Size| 1,000,000+ titles, over 100 million pages digitized
Access and use
Access requirements| Open to anyone with a genuine need to use the collection
Other information
Director| Davinder Pal Singh
Funding| Donations
Website| panjabdigilib.org
Gifted by Royal family of Nabha to Punjab Government Panjab under Maharaja Ranjit Singh issued coins from 1800 to 1848 Published in 1783 by James Rennel Digitized from Chandigarh Museum Circa late 18th century Most of these have been damaged and do not exist in original Gifted by the royal family of Nabha to Punjab Government

The Panjab Digital Library is a voluntary organization digitizing and preserving the cultural heritage of Panjab since 2003. With over 100 million digitized pages, it is the biggest resource of digital material on Panjab.[1][2] There are many historically significant documents stored and made available online. Its scope covers Sikh and Punjabi culture.[3] The library funded by The Nanakshahi Trust was launched online in August 2009. Its base office is located at Chandigarh, India.[4]

The library's mission is to locate, digitize, preserve, collect and make accessible the accumulated wisdom of the Panjab region, without distinction as to script, language, religion, nationality, or other physical condition.[5]

Davinder Pal Singh is the co-founder and the executive director of the Panjab Digital Library, contributing significantly to its mission of preserving Punjab's cultural heritage.[1][6]

## Contents

* 1 Coverage
* 2 Outreach projects
* 3 Current projects
* 4 Major institutions digitized
* 5 Major personal libraries digitized
* 6 Major activities
* 7 Growth
* 7.1 Current stats
* 8 References
* 9 External links

## Coverage

PDL is interested in digitizing anything which is lying in the Panjab region (Panjab, Haryana, Himachal, Kashmir and Pakistan). It is also interested to digitize anything concerning the Panjab region or in Gurmukhi script lying anywhere in the world. PDL is an archive being presented in the form of a library. It digitizes manuscripts from rural areas with the same vigor as it digitizes government files for posterity. It also operates abroad, such as in the United Kingdom.[7]

## Outreach projects

Library at Virasat-e-Khalsa – PDL signed an agreement with Anandpur Sahib Foundation to develop and manage a library at Virasat-e-Khalsa Museum. PDL plans to establish a library of books related to Panjab's art, culture, and history. Rare manuscripts and old magazines will also become part of it. Amongst all these, newspapers will be kept in a big way. About 15 titles from 1960 onwards will be part of the library. A small library shop to sell interesting books and ephemeral material is also on the agenda. PDL opened this library in May 2016.

## Current projects

Digitization Projects

* Punjab State Archives

Exhibitions

* Morcha Guru Ka Bagh
* Guru Tegh Bahadar Sahib

## Major institutions digitized

* 1\. Punjab Languages Department, Patiala
* 2\. Government Museum and Art Gallery Chandigarh
* 3\. Beant Singh Memorial, Chandigarh
* 4\. Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Chandigarh
* 5\. Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra
* 6\. St. Stephen's College, Delhi
* 7\. Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Chandigarh
* 8\. Punjab Archives Department, Chandigarh
* 9\. Punjab Heritage Tourism Promotion Board
* 10\. The Sikh Review, Kolkata
* 11\. Punjabi Sahitya Academy, Ludhiana
* 12\. The Tribune, Chandigarh
* 13\. Ajit, Jalandhar
* 14\. Punjab Kesri, Jalandhar
* 15\. Chief Khalsa Diwan, Amritsar
* 16\. SGPC, Amritsar
* 17\. DSGMC, New Delhi
* 18\. Gurdwara Angitha Sahib, Patiala
* 19\. Punjab Virasat Charitable Trust, SAS Nagar
* 20\. Nirmal Sanskrit Vidyala, Varanasi
* 21\. Kanya Mahavidyalaya, Jalandhar
* 22\. Department of Language, Arts & Culture Himachal Pradesh, Shimla
* 23\. Dev Samaj College, Chandigarh
* 23\. Madras Regimental Center, Wellington
* 24\. Himachal Academy of Language, Arts & Culture, Shimla
* 25\. Takhat Sri Harimandir Sahib, Patna[8]

## Major personal libraries digitized

* 1\. Jathedar Dalip Singh, Malu Nangal
* 2\. Dr. Surinder Singh, Chandigarh
* 3\. Sodhi Family, Anandpur Sahib
* 4\. Mahant Mastan Singh, Dharamkot
* 5\. Dr. Gurcharan Singh, Patiala
* 6\. Dr. Man Singh Nirankari, Chandigarh
* 7\. Dr. Madanjit Kaur, Chandigarh
* 8\. Brij Mohan Singh, Dehradun
* 9\. Dera Sewa Panthi, Yamuna Nagar
* 10\. Prof. Pritam Singh, Patiala
* 11\. Gurmail Singh, Patiala
* 12\. Gurtej Singh (Ex. IAS), Chandigarh
* 13\. Joginder Singh Talwara, Sri Amritsar
* 14\. Chetan Singh, Patiala
* 15\. Dalip Singh Jathedar, Mallu Nangal
* 16\. Dr. Gurdarshan Singh Dhillon
* 17\. Gurcharanjit Singh Lamba, Jalandhar
* 18\. Harvinder Singh Phoolka (Advocate, Supreme Court), New Delhi
* 19\. Mohan Singh, Chandigarh
* 20\. Mahant Kamaljit Singh, Moga
* 21\. Prof. Malvinderjit Singh Waraich
* 22\. Dr. Kirpal Singh, Chandigarh
* 23\. Jasvinder Singh, Nagpur
* 24\. Anurag Singh, Ludhiana
* 25\. Dr. Harnam Singh Shan, Chandigarh
* 26\. Dr. Jaswant Singh Neki, New Delhi
* 27\. Dr. Gurdev Singh Sidhu, Chandigarh
* 28\. Dr. Kanwarjit Singh Kang, Chandigarh
* 29\. Giani Gurdit Singh, Chandigarh
* 30\. Baba Sarabjot Singh Bedi, Una
* 31\. Anup Khosla | Dr. GB Singh, Noida
* 32\. Navjot Pal Singh Randhawa, IAS, Chandigarh
* 33\. Bhayee Sikander Singh, Chandigarh
* 34\. Dr. PC Sharma, Chandigarh
* 35\. SB Durga, Chandigarh
* 36\. Princess Suraj DTVI, Chamba
* 37\. Raja Budhishwar Pal, Nalagarh

and many more public and personal libraries.

## Major activities

* 2009 Nov - Exhibition "Deposition Dispensation: Digitization Directions" was inaugurated by H.E. Gen (Retd.) Dr. S. F. Rodrigues, PVSM, VSM, Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Chandigarh. A special Monograph was also released on the occasion.
* 2009 Dec - Participated and presented a paper in the Parliament of World's Religions at Melbourne, Australia.
* 2010 Feb - Participated and presented a paper titled ‘Panjab Digital Library: Revealing the Heritage of Panjab’ International Conference on Digital Libraries at New Delhi in February 2010.
* 2010 Feb - A month-long mobile exhibition was organized on Architectural Heritage of Panjab at Rose Festival, Chandigarh. The exhibition was on display from 26 February 2010 to 28 March 2010. The theme of the exhibition was "Unveiling the Architecture of the Greater Panjab".
* 2010 Apr - Heritage walk was organized for students of KVRSM School of Chandigarh. About 45 students were taken to Manimajra fort for awareness about the heritage. They were given a lecture about the importance of Heritage.
* 2010 Apr - Exhibited heritage of Panjab at Beant Singh Memorial, Chandigarh. The exhibition was visited among others by His Excellency Shri Shiv Raj Patil, Governor of Panjab and Administrator of Chandigarh.
* 2011 Aug - A webinar "De-Freezing 1930s Panjab" was presented online. The webinar focused on sharing one of PDL's surprise treasures: photographs were taken by Bhai Dhana Singh on a bicycle tour of Panjab of various shrines. The presenters then attempted to visit those shrines again in modern times and see what had changed over the decades.
* 2010 Oct - PDL helped set up a museum at Jagdhari. Sh. Harmohinder Singh Chattha, then Speaker of Haryana Assembly inaugurated in presence of Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Dr. D.D.S. Sandhu, PVSM, VC of Kurukshetra University.
* 2010 Nov - Students of DAV College, Yamuna Nagar visited PDL office to have a first-hand experience of behind the scene activities of a digital library and digitization project.
* 2011 Oct - The Centre on Studies in Sri Guru Granth Sahib coordinated a workshop on 7–8 October 2011 on "Studies on Sri Guru Granth Sahib: Utilization of Computer and Digital Technology." PDL was honored to be presented as a case study in preserving the heritage and facilitating ongoing studies.
* 2012 Feb - Developed a permanent installation of "The Khalsa Raj: Banda Battles & Body Politic" exhibition at Singh Sabha Gurduara in Southhall, UK.
* 2012 Apr - Developed and Exhibited "The Khalsa Raj: Banda Battles & Body Politic" exhibition at City Center Library, Surrey
* 2013 Jul - In collaboration with HRI Southasia, Panjab Digital Library developed an exhibition LIVED STORIES, EVERYDAY LIVES. The exhibition was displayed for the first time at Punjab Kala Bhawan Chandigarh. Afterward, the exhibition traveled to Daudpur village, Khanna district, Panjab.
* 2014 Nov - Organized painting competition and exhibition at Chhapar Chiri, Mohali
* 2014 Nov - Helped Punjab Government with the reprinting of Emly Eden's lithographs for Progressive Punjab Summit
* 2015 Feb - Honored for extraordinary contribution in the field of Digital Library at a conference organized by Bhutta College of Education. Presented a lecture at the conference.
* 2015 Feb - Working with National archives of India to develop policies and standards for digitization.
* 2015 Feb - Provided data backup services to Punjab Heritage Tourism Promotion Board for their rare records.
* 2015 Feb - Organized an exhibition at Banda Singh Bahadur Memorial at Chhapar Chiri, Mohali
* 2015 Nov - Helped Punjab Government with the reprinting of Prince Waldemar's lithographs for Progressive Punjab Summit
* 2015 Dec - Signed an agreement with Anandpur Sahib Foundation to develop and operate a library at Virasat-e-Khalsa Museum.
* 2016 Dec - In collaboration with Bihar Government organized an exhibition, "Emperor-Prophet Guru Gobind Singh Sahib" at Bihar Museum, Patna
* 2017 Feb - Exhibition "Emperor-Prophet Guru Gobind Singh Sahib" at Virasat-e-Khalsa, Anandpur
* 2017 Apr - Photographed 150 protected monuments of Panjab
* 2017 Nov - Curated an Exhibit titled "Monuments of Panjab" for Guru Gobind Singh Khalsa College, Chandigarh on the occasion of a National Seminar
* 2017 Dec - Curated & Produced a portfolio on "Military Tradition of Panjab" for Military Literature Festival
* 2018 Mar - Curated an Exhibit titled "Mid-Nineteenth Century: Fall of the Sikh Empire and Transition in Polity and Socio-Cultural Milieu (1839–1849)" at Guru Gobind Singh Khalsa College, Chandigarh on the occasion of a National Seminar
* 2018 Mar - Curated a catalog of artifacts for Indian Railways Museum at Shimla
* 2018 Nov - Curated and Published "Guns of Glory: Sikh Guns & Inscriptions" for Military Literature Festival, Government of Punjab
* 2019 Nov - Curated and organized a visual art exhibition on Guru Nanak Sahib at Sultanpur Lodhi, Government of Punjab[9][10]
* 2019 Dec - Curated and Published a catalog of miniatures on the "Life & Legacy of Guru Nanak Sahib" for Military Literature Festival, Government of Punjab
* 2024 Jul - Curated and hosted an exhibition titled "The Sikh Empire 1710-1849: Perspectives by International Artists & Authors".[11]

## Growth

1000x1000px

* Estimated pages to be digitized by the year end

In 2003, the first year of operations, 60,000 pages were digitized.[12] By December 2024, over 85 million pages had been digitzed.[2] By March 2026, over 100 million pages had been digitized, coinciding with the Nanakshahi New Year celebration.[13][14][15] In recent years, the pace of digitization has slowed due to decreased funding, from 60,000 pages a day declining to 35,000 pages per day being digitized.[16]

### Current stats

Items digitized by the PDL up until December 2024[2] Media type  | Number digitzed

|

Books  | 87,700+
Files (pre-1947)  | 545,000+
Manuscripts  | 12,350+
Magazines  | 18,600+
Pamphlets  | 3,900+
Maps  | 10,700+
Pictures  | 211,000+
Articles  | 47,000+
Documents  | 19,000+
Newspapers  | 40,000+
Posters  | 2,700+
Coins  | 33,000+
Letters  | 10,500+
Poems  | 16,000+
Legal documents  | 6,000+

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sharma, Sarika (2023-04-23). "20 years of Panjab Digital Library". https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/features/20-years-of-panjab-digital-library-6-5-crore-manuscripts-counting-500128.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Preserving Heritage, One Page at a Time: Documents Digitized by PDL (2003-2024). Over 85 Million Pages Digitized.". 11 January 2025. https://x.com/panjabdigilib/status/1878001580387021224.
3. ↑ David Rothman. "Panjab Digital Library launched : Millions of rare pages on the Sikhs and the region". http://www.teleread.org/2009/08/20/panjab-digital-library-launched-millions-of-rare-pages-on-the-sikhs-and-the-region/. Retrieved 2009-10-29.
4. ↑ "Panjab Digital Library Goes Online at Chandigarh". http://merachandigarh.org/architect/panjab_digital_library_chandigarh.html. Retrieved 2009-10-29.
5. ↑ Rattan, Pardeep (2013). "Role of Panjab Digital Library in Digitizing Manuscripts: A Case Study" (PDF). Library Philosophy and Practice. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2340&context=libphilprac.
6. ↑ Sethi, Chitleen K. (2018-12-19). "In Punjab, a library's silent digital revolution is preserving the state's heritage" (in en-US). https://theprint.in/statedraft/in-punjab-a-librarys-silent-digital-revolution-is-preserving-the-states-heritage/166089/.
7. ↑ "Preserving the heritage – Panjab Digital Library launched in the United Kingdom". Sikh Siyasat. 19 February 2013. https://sikhsiyasat.net/preserving-the-heritage-panjab-digital-library-launched-in-the-united-kingdom/.
8. ↑ "Digitizing manuscripts at Takhat Sri Patna Sahib". The Indian Express. https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/from-past-perfect-to-present-continuous/.
9. ↑ "Exhibition "Guru Nanak The Sovereign" Unveiled in SultanPur Lodi" (in en). 8 November 2019. https://www.sikhnet.com/news/exhibition-guru-nanak-sovereign-unveiled-sultanpur-lodi.
10. ↑ Service, Tribune News. "Religious congregation to mark Guru Nanak's anniversary" (in en). https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/punjab/religious-congregation-to-mark-guru-nanaks-anniversary-858055.
11. ↑ "Relics of an empire". The Tribune. https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/lifestyle/relics-of-an-empire-641250/.
12. ↑ "Panjab Digital Library's record digitisation in 2021 and the road ahead". The World Sikh News. January 2022. https://www.theworldsikhnews.com/panjab-digital-librarys-record-digitisation-in-2021-and-the-road-ahead/.
13. ↑ "On the Nanakshahi New Year, we are proud to share a historic milestone.". 14 March 2026. https://www.facebook.com/PanjabDigiLib.org/posts/pfbid0fo8hq375YaPRo2QADqqgzGpGgGCSmqgxhG95DXznwy8nnLbWdRyLZCz5BcdyxXQml.
14. ↑ "On the Nanakshahi New Year, we are proud to share a historic milestone.". 14 March 2026. https://www.instagram.com/p/DV38IZCk9TE/.
15. ↑ "On the Nanakshahi New Year, we’re proud to share a historic #milestone.". 14 March 2026. https://x.com/panjabdigilib/status/2032888355491651635.
16. ↑ "2025 | A Year in Review". 30 December 2025. https://www.instagram.com/p/DS5FICUE-6W/.

## External links

* Official website
* Panjab Digital Library at India Today
* Punjab library keeps the past alive online, Live Mint
* A Sikh pilgrim's chronicle of gurdwaras across the nation in 1930s, Hindustan Times
* 20 years of Panjab Digital Library: 6.5 crore manuscripts & counting, The Tribune

0.00

(0 votes)

Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panjab Digital Library. Read more

|

Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Panjab_Digital_Library&oldid=4348117"