Heritage conservation body hails State Govt move against closure

• City-based conservation body Heritage Conservation Society of Assam (HeCSA) has hailed the announcement made by the State government that it would not go by the recommendation of the 7th Pay and Productivity Pay Commission for closure of the 91-yearold Directorate of Historical and Antiquarian Studies (DHAS) as a very positive proclamation.
• The DHAS, set up in 1928, is scheduled to celebrate its centenary in 2028. Over the last nine decades of its existence, the DHAS, a rare institution of its type in the country, has emerged as a treasure house of countless invaluable books, historical records, manuscripts, journals, newspapers, etc.
• Many scholars from different parts of the country and the rest of the globe have been using the rare manuscripts and other historical records preserved by it for scholarly pursuits. The DHAS building was built in 1936, with a donation of Rs 10,000 made by Raibahadur Radhakanta Handiqui, and personalities like Dr Surya Kanta Bhuyan, Dr BK Baruah, AHW Bentinck, JP Mills, Maulavi Abul Fazal Syed Ahmed, Dr PC Choudhury, KN Dutta and many others were actively associated with it.

About Directorate of Historical and Antiquarian Studies (DHAS):

• The Directorate of Historical and Antiquarian studies, Assam,(DHAS) Guwahati is a premier cultural and historical organization. Established in 1928, the basic objectives of this organization is to collect historical source materials and preserve them for future research as also for writing and compiling a systematic comprehensive history of Assam.
• The main work of this Directorate is collection of rare and old manuscripts. The Directorate has not only collected manuscripts and some other books but also some copper plates, coins and other historically important materials. The vision is to bring about improvement in the quality of the research in the field of History.

By: Ziyaur Rahman