The Indic Digital Archive Foundation
The Indic Digital Archive Foundation works to rescue Indic language cultural artefacts from physical decay by scanning, digitising, and publishing them as open-access data. Its flagship project, Granthappura, is a digital archive of Kerala and Malayalam cultural heritage that includes some of the earliest printed books in Malayalam, the first Malayalam dictionary, and rare periodicals dating back centuries.
Beyond archival, the foundation maintains open-source digital dictionaries used by millions. Olam, an English-Malayalam and Malayalam-Malayalam dictionary, serves over 2.5 million speakers monthly. Alar covers Kannada-English, and Samam connects Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, and Telugu. All projects are built on open data principles, free for anyone to use, study, and build upon.
Location: Bengaluru, Kerala (multiple centres)
Projects
- Granthappura (ഗ്രന്ഥപ്പുര) Open-access digital archive of Kerala and Malayalam cultural artefacts, with 7,000+ documents and scanning centres across India.
- Olam (ഓളം) Open-source English-Malayalam and Malayalam-Malayalam dictionary with over 1 million entries, serving 2.5 million users monthly.
- Alar and Samam Open-data dictionaries covering Kannada-English and a four-language South Indian dictionary compiled over 25 years.
Work that outlasts you. The documents being digitised are centuries old. The work being done here is genuinely irreversible preservation, not just another digital project. Open everything. All work is published as open data and open source, meaning anyone anywhere can build on it. No paywalls, no proprietary lock-in. Real institutional credibility. Collaborations with Madras University, Ashoka University, C-DIT, and Tuebingen University mean the work is taken seriously by scholars and governments alike. Deep roots in language and culture. For anyone who cares about South Indian languages, digital humanities, or cultural heritage, this is one of the few organisations in India doing serious work at this intersection.
Volunteer and community led. The foundation runs a strong volunteer community and holds annual unconferences. People here are genuinely mission-driven, not just working a job.
