READIT-2007 - Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research

The objective of the archives is:
1. To collect and preserve (both in digital and print forms) various published
and unpublished writings of Prof M N Saha;
2. Documents so far published on Prof Saha (Newspaper cuttings, Articles,
Photographs, testimonials);
3. Documents relating to Saha Memorial Lectures, Colloquium Materials,
prestigious achievements by fellows/staff members, important events and
celebrations;
4. To present the essentials of the SINP archives through our website.
2. COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT
The job of an archivist starts from collection development and proceeds to a
dissemination of information.
The multifaceted genius like Prof M N Saha was not only associated with science
but also with different activities important to the country. He was a Parliamentarian,
acted on several occasions in the capacity of Chairman of different important committees.
All records related to him, therefore, have an immense importance to the mankind.
The archive has been able to collect a good amount of unpublished writings,
correspondence, photographs and sketches etc from his close associates, family members
and students. In this regard mention should be made of people like Prof. A K Saha, Dr.
Prasenjit Saha, Dr. Chitra Roy and Dr. Santimay Chatterjee. Dr. D H DeVorkin of the
Department of History of Science, Smithsonian Institution, California, also provided us
with copies of important materials. We received a good number of documents also from
the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi, the custodian of the original
Meghnad Saha Papers. Dr. Prasenjit Saha, the youngest son of Prof M N Saha has been a
great help in enriching our collection.
Records are broadly of two categories – scientific and private. The scientific
documents include articles written by Prof M N Saha in ‘Nature’, ‘Science and Culture’,
letters written to and by Prof M N Saha, ‘Biographical note on M N Saha’ written by D S
Kothari, list of publications of Prof Saha in scientific journals and elsewhere,
photographs and other documents relating to Prof Saha. To date, the unit has collected
copies of as many as 2000 letters written to and by Prof M N Saha. So far the document
holdings comprise 22 volumes, arranged in alphabetic order of the correspondents. Of
these 22 volumes, 18 volumes are complete with catalogue, summary and, whenever
necessary, English translations of letters. A good part of this collection has already been
digitalized. Some personal articles of Prof Saha also constitute a valuable asset of this
archive.
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