India Heritage Project

Aims & Objectives: 

A. Cultural Knowledge & Documentation

1. Digitize Ancient Texts – To scan, transcribe, and publish rare manuscripts (Sanskrit, Prakrit, Persian, Tamil and other 18 official languages) with translations.

2. Oral Traditions Archive – To record folk songs, epics, and local stories before they vanish.

3. Craftspeople Interviews – To document the life histories of traditional artisans, sculptors, weavers, and performers.

4. Digital Heritage Library – To build an open-access online archive of India’s heritage materials, as part of svarxiv.

5. Lexicon Projects – To compile glossaries of heritage terms across Indian languages.

B. Built Heritage & Monuments

6. Community Monument Watch – To train local youth to monitor and report damage at heritage sites.

7. Adopt-a-Monument Program – To partner with ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) to maintain specific lesser-known monuments.

8. Virtual Tours – To create 3D models and VR walkthroughs of temples, forts, and heritage towns.

9. Conservation Training Workshops – To equip students with skills in stone, wood, and fresco restoration.

10. Crowdsourced Mapping – To encourage people to geo-tag heritage structures in their locality.

C. Intangible Heritage

11. Traditional Music Residencies – To support endangered instruments (sarangi, rudra veena, tabla) with training camps.

12. Culinary Heritage Documentation – To record recipes, food practices, and rituals tied to regional cuisines.

13. Festival Preservation Projects – To archive videos, narratives, and rituals of fading local festivals.

14. Language Revitalization – To support endangered Indian languages through digital dictionaries and storybooks.

15. Yoga & Ayurveda Archives – To curate authentic, textual and oral sources on indigenous health traditions.

D. Community Engagement

16. Heritage Walks – To organize guided walks in towns and villages to connect locals with their heritage.

17. School Programs – To develop heritage-focused curricula and activity kits for students.

18. Youth Volunteer Networks – To train young people as “Heritage Ambassadors.”

19. Living Heritage Museums – To partner with communities to create small museums showcasing local traditions.

20. Storytelling Circles – To host periodic events where elders share cultural narratives with the next generation.

E. Research & Policy

21. Heritage Research Fellowships – To fund research on Indian heritage themes across disciplines.

22. Policy Advocacy – To advise government on safeguarding cultural practices under UNESCO’s heritage frameworks.

23. Collaborative Projects – To partner with IITs, IIMs, and global universities for interdisciplinary studies.

24. Heritage Economics Studies – To research sustainable ways artisans and performers can earn livelihoods.

25. Heritage & Sustainability Integration – To link preservation of traditional practices (e.g., water tanks, farming) with modern environmental solutions.