ASI’s Digital Push
Expanding Access to India’s Epigraphic Heritage: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has launched a major effort to digitise estampages, strengthening India’s digital heritage ecosystem. The Epigraphy Division has begun scanning all Tamil estampages and uploading them to a central online repository. This initiative improves access for researchers who often rely on these primary inscription copies for historical analysis.
Scale of Digitisation
ASI holds 24,806 Tamil estampages, and scanning is already completed for 13,740 of them. This covers nearly 25,000 Tamil inscriptions, making it one of the largest digital archives in the country. The project also includes digitising inscriptions in other Indian languages along with Arabic and Persian material, ensuring linguistic diversity in the archive.
Static GK fact: The ASI was established in 1861 by Alexander Cunningham, who is known as the “Father of Indian Archaeology.”
Bharat SHRI Platform
The work forms a major component of Bharat Shared Repository of Inscriptions (Bharat SHRI). This digital epigraphy museum aims to create a unified, complete digital archive of all recorded inscriptions in India. It supports the government’s broader vision of preserving historical assets through digital technology.
Static GK Tip: India has more than 1 lakh known inscriptions, spanning dynasties such as the Mauryas, Cholas, Pallavas, and Satavahanas.
Metadata for Research
Each scanned estampage includes detailed metadata such as location, king, dynasty, language, script, period and transcript. This structured tagging allows scholars to trace political history, administrative systems and socio-economic patterns across regions and eras. The project improves research efficiency by providing consistent categorisation.
Public Access and Utility
Once fully digitised, Bharat SHRI will serve as a single digital platform for inscription access. Students, historians and the general public can explore inscriptions without visiting physical archives. This reduces handling of fragile estampages and supports long-term preservation.
Static GK fact: The earliest deciphered Indian inscription is the Ashokan edicts written in Prakrit using the Brahmi script.
Strengthening Heritage Preservation
Digitisation ensures that invaluable records survive natural decay and remain available for future study. It also encourages interdisciplinary research by connecting archaeology with linguistics, history and digital humanities. ASI’s initiative strengthens India’s cultural documentation and supports knowledge sharing.
Static Usthadian Current Affairs Table
Expanding Access to India’s Epigraphic Heritage:
| Topic | Detail |
| Project name | Bharat Shared Repository of Inscriptions (Bharat SHRI) |
| Implementing body | Archaeological Survey of India |
| Division involved | Epigraphy Division |
| Tamil estampages held | 24,806 |
| Tamil estampages scanned | 13,740 |
| Coverage | Nearly 25,000 Tamil inscriptions |
| Metadata fields | Location, king, dynasty, language, script, period, transcript |
| Additional languages | Other Indian languages, Arabic, Persian |
| Purpose | Unified digital archive for inscriptions |
| Benefit | Easy access for scholars and the public |
