Scholar Guidelines

• 1.1 Admission/Registration Rules
• 1.2 Access Rules for Collections
• 1.3 Reprographic Services Rules
• 1.4 General Instructions for Scholars

1.1 Admission/Registration Rules

Admission to the Reading Room of the Archives is granted to only bona fide research scholars:

• a) Faculty members, research scholars and students of Ashoka University.
• b) Faculty members and research scholars of recognized universities of India.
• c) Research scholars/assistants of recognized universities or institutions who produce introduction letter from their supervisor or Professor or Head of the Department of Universities or Principals of their Colleges or Heads of Institutions or any other evidence that may prove they are bona fide scholars acceptable to the Chair, Archives of Contemporary India.
• d) Other scholars, authors, journalists etc. engaged in writing work related to the collections in the Archives.

Note: Documentary film makers, curators of exhibitions, scholars, etc. wishing to consult and use the sources of the archives will have to take special permission from the Chair of the Archives and will have to give a written undertaking to abide by all the copyright issues pertaining to the material selected from the collections. And they should duly acknowledge the Archives for the archival material consulted by them. Shooting/using professional camera will be allowed only after making advance payment as per the Archives rules.

1.1.1 Foreign Scholars

• a) Foreign scholars including OCI/PIO card holders wishing to consult the primary sources in the Archives should bring a letter of introduction from their respective Universities/Institution with their topic of research. They should also submit another letter of introduction from their respective Missions in India addressed to the Chair of the Archives of Contemporary India.
• b) Foreign scholars submitting their projects through Indian Missions abroad or through foreign institutions based in India, or such cases where the research projects would involve field work, would require necessary clearance from the concerned Ministry. To avoid any loss of time after their arrival in the country, it is advisable that the scholars should send their applications well in advance directly to the concerned Ministry for the necessary clearances. Scholars under this category will be admitted to the Reading Room only after they submit such clearance on their visit to the Archives.
• c) All scholars should email their application on the prescribed form enclosing all documents as mentioned above to the Director, Archives and submit the original documents to the supervisor in the Reading Room on their arrival.
• d) Online membership can be taken from ACI website: archives.ashoka.edu.in by signing up.

1.1.2 Fee structure for membership of Archives

1.2 Access Rules for Collections of ACI

• a) All private/institutional papers in the archives are open for consultation except where the donor/donors have placed restrictions or closed the papers for a specific period of time.
• b) Reading Room of the Archives: Catalogues/Collections can be consulted in the Reading Room of ACI on the University campus. Consulting the catalogues and viewing the metadata of files on the desktop in the Reading Room are Free of Charge.
  • i) Files/documents for reading can be requisitioned by filling the Requisition Form available in the Reading Room and on the ACI website too.
  • ii) Membership of the Archives (see 1.1.2) has to be acquired for requisitioning files/documents from the collections for reading. Duly filled Membership and Requisition Forms can be sent by email also to Director/Supervisor of the Reading Room in advance to save time.
  • iii) Papers/files will be issued to the scholar only after the approval of the competent authority. There are No Charges for reading the files/ documents requisitioned in the Reading Room. However, scholars will be charged for duplication of files/ documents as per ACI duplication rules (see 1.3.1).
  • iv) Brittle and delicate original papers will not be allowed for physical consultation but can be shown in digital form.
  • v) No access to the original files and documents that have been digitized.
  • vi) Scholars can reserve files for a week. Files not consulted for a week will be restored.
  • vii) Scholars should seek, in writing, permission from the Director of Archives in case they need to engage an assistant for research.
  • viii) Scholars are advised to handle the papers with utmost care. Membership is likely to be terminated in case a scholar is found damaging or disfiguring the document.
• c) Online Access on ACI website (archives.ashoka.edu.in): Catalogues of collections can be read online on ACI website and downloaded without registering as a member of ACI. Metadata of the collection, giving details of each file and document, can also be read online without acquiring ACI membership. Scholars who want to requisition a file for downloading will have to both register and take membership of ACI. (see 1.1.2). Requisition Form can be downloaded and submitted online. Files/documents requested will be uploaded online only after receiving the requisition on the prescribed form and advance payment as per the ACI duplication rules (see 1.3.1).

1.3 Reprographic Services Rules

• a) Reprographic services are available for scholars.
• b) Duplication of a document or a file is permitted only after the approval of the competent authority.
• c) Duplication of documents is undertaken only after receiving the requisition on the prescribed form and advance payment as per the archives rules.
• d) Duplication of a file is permitted in a collection but not the entire collection. Only 1/4 duplication of the entire collection is permitted.
• e) Duplication of 1/4th of a category (General Correspondence, Subject Files, Writings by Him & Others, etc) within a collection is permitted but not the entire category within a collection.
• f) In cases where there are photographs/ albums, only 1/4 of the photographs/albums are permitted for duplication.
• g) In cases where there are videos and sound recordings in a collection, only 1⁄4th of such material will be allowed for duplication.
• h) Both video and sound recordings will be duplicated only in their full duration.
• i) Separate rates may be charged for different reprography services such as photocopying and scanning.
• j) Scholars are advised to handle the papers with utmost care. Membership is likely to be terminated in case a scholar is found damaging or disfiguring the document.
• k) Copyright rules would apply to duplication of images, photos, audios, videos, etc.
• l) Photography/scanning by any means is strictly prohibited in the Reading Room.

1.3.1 Reprographic Charges

Indian Scholars

• i) Duplication/scanning per page A1-A4: Rs. 10 per page (for pendrive, separate charges as per GB).
• ii) Photograph/images 300 dpi: Rs. 200 per photo + pen drive /600 dpi: Rs. 400 per photo + pen drive charges.
• iii) Photo copyright charges for Indian publishers: Rs. 2,000 per photo.
• iv) Shooting from photos in Archives premises: Rs. 10,000 per day.

Foreign Scholars

• Duplication/scanning per page A1-A4: Rs. 40 per page (for pendrive, separate charges as per GB).
• ii) Photograph/images 300 dpi: Rs. 600 per photo + pen drive/600 dpi: Rs. 1,000 per photo + pen drive charges.
• iii) Photo copyright charges for foreign publishers: Rs. 10,000 per photo.
• iv) Shooting from photos in Archives premises: Rs. 25,000 per day.

1.4 General Instructions for Research Scholars

• a) Archives Reading Room shall remain open from Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. except on holidays notified by the university.
• b) Requisition Timings: 10 a.m. - 4.15 p.m.
• c) Closure of Reading Room: 4.40 p.m.
• d) Files requisitioned at 4.15 p.m. will be supplied next day after 10.30 a.m.
• e) Request to register for membership along with the required documents may be emailed in advance to Director, Archives.
• f) Every scholar must carry their photo ID proof and should be able to show it to the supervisor of the Reading Room when requested.
• g) No open shelf access of archival material.
• h) No papers/files to leave the Reading Room of the Archives.
• i) No bags, mobiles, cameras, paper cutters/knives, staplers/pins/cigarette lighter are allowed inside the Reading Room.
• j) Food, drink, chewing gums and cigarettes not permitted in the Archives.
• k) Pens are not allowed inside the Reading Room. Only pencils, laptops, writing notebooks or papers may be taken inside.
• l) Documents to be handled with utmost care, no marking on the files, no folding or pinning the papers in the file.