KOLKATA: Centuries-old manuscripts at a colonial-era library in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata are set to become available online before they disintegrate, a library official said on Wednesday.

Raj Bhavan (government house) library authorities have started a project to make the valuable manuscript available in digital format. They include a 1783 book of the Holy Quran and a copy of the 18th-century British ban on the practice of widows committing suicide on funeral pyres.

The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing Digitisation, based in Bangalore, is expected to complete the project by early next year, librarian Uma Majumdar said.

Valued by researchers, the library’s collection includes the works of Sir William Jones, who served on the Bengal Supreme Court in the late 1700s and was a scholar of ancient India.

But many of the library’s more than 6,000 manuscripts are in tatters, Majumdar said.

“The Islamic holy scripture and an anthology of Urdu ghazals called Kimiya-i-Sa’adat by Imam Ghazli are in very bad shape,” she said.

“Once digitisation is completed, historians, researchers and academicians will be allowed regulated access to the collection on the recommendation of universities and research organisations,” she said. Scholars will be able to consult manuscripts online after requesting permission.

Raj Bhavan is the home of the West Bengal state governor. It was the seat of British imperial power in India from 1857 until 1911, when it was decided to move the capital to New Delhi.—AFP