Archives play a crucial role in providing sources for writing and preserving history. Those with a passion for history often admire archives for their ability to provide a glimpse into the past. At the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA), business history has been an interesting topic and an academic discipline, since its initial days when Professor Dwijendra Tripathi joined the institute, in 1964. He later became the doyen of business history in India, thanks to his extensive research, seminars, and scholarly publications, in this comparatively new field, in the country.
Various faculty members of IIMA have been interested in history, which is why official information has always been recorded and kept safe at various places in the institute. However, the idea to set up a formal archive at IIMA took shape only recently. Business history also, has always been intertwined with IIMA, being one of the first major business schools in India and now a leading business school not only in India and Asia but in the world.
The IIMA Archives, founded in November 2017, preserves institutional and architectural memory and periodically disseminates historical information about the institute to the IIMA community and the general public. It holds a large collection of physical and digitized documents related to the foundation and evolution of the institute. The IIMA Oral History project is a key initiative of the IIMA Archives, capturing the experiences of several people associated with the institute from its formative years.
In 2019, the official launch of the IIMA Archives website took place during the International Conference on Indian Business and Economic History in memory of Professor Dwijendra Tripathi. In the long run, the Archives aims to become a Business History Research Hub, a small beginning towards which was made with documents and directories related to Indian business history. Additionally, the Archives has collaborated with the Gujarat State Archives on topics related to business, industry, and trade in Gujarat (India), and launched a digital exhibition and monograph on the 'MARITIME TRADE OF GUJARAT'S PRINCELY STATES: NAWANAGAR AND PORBANDAR' on May 29, 2023.
The Archives has completed the identification and organization of material pertaining to the first 30 years of the Institute's existence (1961-91) and launched a permanent exhibition, Brick by Brick, displaying features of the early life of the Institute on November 10, 2021. The Archives is now collecting and organizing material related to recent years. The IIMA Archives strives to enhance the brand and identity of IIMA by establishing a digital connection with stakeholders that emphasizes the Institute's history and legacy, as well as the business history of India in the long term. Our monthly snippets, quarterly newsletters, monograph series, and exhibitions have been well-received by IIMA's stakeholders, research scholars, and valued readers. Through these efforts, we aim to provide a comprehensive and engaging platform for exploring the rich history of IIMA and the history of the business landscape of India.
On this International Archives Day, we reflect on the roots of Business History at IIMA and the intertwining story of IIMA Archives with Business History. Please see the attached document.
