Two-Day Workshop on “Reading Rajasthani Archival Sources"

The Archival, non archival, numismatic, inscriptions and Archaeological data form the back bone of the historical research for all periods. Rajasthan is extremely rich in historical sources pertaining to all periods of history. The State Archives at Bikaner possess enormous material both in Persian as well as in Rajasthan which is very significant for carrying out Research in Rajasthan. Beside this, region is also rich in private collections possessed by many business families, jagirdars and revenue officials which are in Rajasthani language. This workshop is based on reading primary sources available in Rajasthan State Archives, Bikaner. Dastur Komwar papers constitute an important catergory of records and give more varied information on the social, cultural, and political history of Kacchawaha clan between 1718 to1918. The documents are arranged caste wise and in alphabetical order dealing with the customs and traditions of the different castes in the contemporary period.
The Department of History in collaboration with the Rajasthan State Archives, Bikaner organized a two day Workshop on “Reading Rajasthani Archival Sources” in collaboration with Rajasthan State Archives, Bikaner on 4th -5th August 2017(Friday & Saturday) .This Workshop aimed at enhancing the reading skills of the students of History and develops their comprehension thus widening their horizon of learning and knowledge of History.
The programme was inaugurated on 4th August 2017 by Dr Raakhi Gupta, Registrar of the University, who accorded a floral welcome to the three Language experts: Mr. P C Jahiya,Former Asst. Director, Rajasthan State Archives, Bikaner along with Mr. Gauri Shankar and Mr. Puran Singh Chauhan. Prof. N K Jain, Dean Arts and Social Sciences, blessed and encouraged the students with his words of wisdom. Sh Jahiya informed the students about the dialects of Rajasthani and the significant information contained in them . Our Resource Person Prof V K Vashishtha outlined the different sources of history and threw light on Dastoor Kaumwar as an important source of history of Jaipur. He also encouraged the students to develop a passion and interest in the rich history and culture of Rajasthan which remains untouched and untapped by the researchers.
The students were given hands-on training on reading Rajasthani for two days. The programme ended with an inspirational lecture on the use of the knowledge gained about the Rajasthani sources for writing research papers. The students got a chance to develop the skills which helped them understand the history, culture and traditions of the bygone era of the state of Jaipur which would be helpful in their project work.