Archives play an important role in shaping cultural identities, knowledge systems, and the collective consciousness of human civilisations because they embody living memory. However, the predominant praxis of archives as mere ‘storehouses’ or ‘repositories’ of historical documents, characterised by ‘passive receptivity’, fails to acknowledge the physical and fluid nature of knowledge. The dynamic and transformative nature of archives is rooted the contextualisation of its records; and with each use of records, the materials in the archive are activated, tracing a distinct semantic genealogy. Archives are therefore not a stable entity that can only be used for the provenance of facts, but are indispensable tool in a constantly shifting process of re-contextualisation. Since archives are always embedded locally as an element of knowledge infrastructure, they hold a distinctive position in a country’s knowledge ecosystem.

As one of the most ancient civilisations, comprising diverse races and cultures, India possesses stratified histories, philosophies, and socio-cultural dynamics that constitute an intricate knowledge ecosystem spanning millennia. Different stakeholders in Indian knowledge ecosystems have consistently made sincere efforts in documenting, curating and preserving them. With the rapid digital transformation sweeping across the globe, stakeholders in the Indian knowledge system face both unprecedented opportunities and challenges in curating, digitising, annotating and disseminating them through open digital platforms.

The Government of India has undertaken several initiatives to preserve, document, and digitize Indian systems of knowledge across diverse fields, including science and technology, philosophy, arts, medicine, and literature, while promoting interdisciplinary research to integrate Indian knowledge into contemporary education and scholarship. These initiatives include the establishment of the Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) Division under the Ministry of Education and the strengthening and revamping of the National Mission for Manuscripts. More recently, the Government has launched its flagship mission called Gyan Bharatam which places emphasis on the large-scale survey, conservation, digitization, and dissemination of India’s rich manuscript and documentary heritage for make it accessible for research, education. Proper implementation of these initiatives need interdisciplinary approach as well as wider public engagement.

This conference aims to bring together archivists, librarians, scholars, and digital practitioners to critically examine archives as dynamic, interpretative, and participatory entities within the Indian knowledge ecosystem. The discussions will bridge philosophical frameworks with digital innovations, address contemporary debates on decolonisation, explore the potential and risks of AI-driven archival systems, and contribute to long-term policy and capacity-building agendas for India.