CLASS-006. PAST 2025-2026

PAST is a grant program to preserve diverse histories of science and technology in contemporary India, with a focus on archival material relating to marginalised and under-represented histories. The call for proposals was open between Oct 1 2024 - Nov 15 2024. Eight projects completed the first Program for the Archiving of Science and Technology (PAST) 2025-26, and the projects were made accessible to the public in February 2026. This program is thanks to generous funding from Arcadia, a charitable foundation that works to protect nature, preserve cultural heritage and promote open access to knowledge. For details on program and projects, please visit our website: https://archives.ncbs.res.in/past. Grantees are listed in alphabetical order, by grantee name: (1) Advanced Media Production: "History of Media Technology from a Jungle of Meaning": Audiovisual media industry in Delhi from the early 1970s to 2000, creating an experience of practice ignored in discussions about histories of technology. (2) Conservation indica: Pastoral Legacies: Digitizing Maldhari Heritage and Ecological Wisdom: Ecological histories drawing on the knowledge of nomadic pastoralists of Gujarat, including shifts in land rights, resource access, and conservation in Saurashtra. (3) Labhopping Science Media Forum: Archiving histories of science from Mangalore (1890s–1990s): Archiving material sourced from individuals and libraries in Mangaluru, including scientific ecosystem of the region from the late 1800s to the late 1900s. (4) Maharashtra Prabodhan Seva Mandal (MPSM): Knowledge among North Maharashtra's Indigenous People: Preserve traditional ecological knowledge held by the Adivasi communities of North Maharashtra (5) Nature Conservation Foundation: Archiving Publications of the Bengal Natural History Society: Preservation and archiving of the publications of the Bengal Natural History Society, including documentation of wildlife in Eastern and Northeastern India. (6) Partners For Law In Development: Archiving records of community action on women’s & queer rights: Preservation and archiving the material kept at the Feminist Law Archives (FLA), including histories of community interventions by SAHAJ on sexual and reproductive rights. (7) Saythu…Linking People and Heritage: Saythu-Dohnavur: Collection of Collections 2025-26: Archives of the The Dohnavur Fellowship, southern Tamil Nadu, bringing in a relatively overlooked role in advancing STEM knowledge, around field-based research, experimentation and innovation in natural & environmental sciences, and climate-responsive architecture. (8) University of Jammu: Preserving and Digitizing Marginalized STEM Histories of Jammu and Kashmir: Preservation, archiving and open access to rare archival materials from the University of Jammu’s libraries, focusing on the history of science and technology.