Bridging the gap: The need of creating Hmar Digital Library

By Robert Wilson Joute

31-01-2024, New Delhi

In today's fast-paced digital era, the need for quick and easy access to information
has become more crucial than ever. Students, teachers, scholars, and even laymen
require seamless access to knowledge anytime and anywhere. This necessity
underscores the need for creating an online digital library, which would serve as
a virtual treasure trove of resources and a one stop solution for anyone seeking
vast array of reliable information at one place. Unfortunate, there are limited
resources available related to the Hmar Tribes and accessing them is a challenge
for many. This led to the birth of Hmar Digital Library (HDL) - Date of birth: 27-
01-2024.
HDL is an open-source digital arXiv and repository where books, journals,
scholar papers, folklore, stories, history, poetry, songs and educational materials
related to Hmar tribe are stored and preserved. There is huge parity between the
educated and the general public of Hmar society, while some few fortunate
individuals are highly educated and access world class opportunities, vast section
of the community are deprived from accessing basic education for lake of free
and easy accessible resources. HDL broadly aims to bridge this gap. The
purposes of creating HDL are:
1. Cultural Preservation - Hmar Literature holds immense significance,
serving as a repository of the community's history, traditions and values.
By preserving Hmar books in a digital library, HDL aims to contribute in
safeguarding the rich cultural heritage of the community for future
generations, ensuring that it is not lost or forgotten.
2. Language revitalization - Language is an integral part of any community's
identity. By digitalizing the available books and resources, HDL aims to
contribute to the revitalization and preservation of the Hmar language. This
digital library will serve as a valuable resource for students, researchers
and enthusiasts, fostering a sense of pride and connection to their linguistic
roots.
3. Free Access: By making Hmar books and other resources available online
in a digital format, individuals from anywhere will be able to access them
anytime. This free access will allow for the inclusion of larger collection
of books, ensuring a comprehensive and diverse range of Hmar literature.
4. Preservation and conservation of Physical books - Physical books are
always susceptible to loss, damage and deterioration over time. By
 digitizing them, HDL aims to preserve in their original form, ensuring their
longevity and preventing from the loss of valuable content.
Hence, creating Hmar Digital Library is the need of the hour. It is a crucial step
towards preserving the cultural heritage and promoting the Hmar language. By
making these books and resources easily accessible to everyone, we can bridge
the gap between the Literature and its readers, regardless of their geographical
location.
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Note:
• Books and materials stored here are open-source and no copy right is violated. Books
that are in sale in the market are made available here only after the consent of the
author(s).
• Any contribution and suggestion towards the development of HDL is always welcome.
You can list your favourite book that you would like to see available in our library by
filling out the recommendations form.