Urgent Call to Digitize Khajistan’s 1,000+ Urdu Children’s Books
by Khajistan Cultural Desk
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New York, NY — Khajistan has assembled a large and vulnerable collection of Urdu children’s books and magazines that rarely survive in libraries. The archive currently holds 1,180 individual items, representing about 373 distinct titles. Most are in Urdu, with a smaller group in mixed Urdu and English. Together they span more than a century, from early twentieth century booklets to children’s magazines printed in the 2000s. The collection includes long running monthlies such as Monthly Humdard Naunehal (188 issues), Monthly Sathi Karachi (129 issues), Monthly Taleem-o-Tarbiyat Lahore (92 issues), Bachon Ki Duniya Lahore (88 issues), Monthly Khelona Lahore (54 issues), Monthly Honehar Pakistan Karachi (47 issues), Bachon Ka Chanda Mamu Lahore (42 issues), Monthly Zauq-o-Shauq Karachi (31 issues), Monthly Bachon ka Bagh Lahore, Monthly Atfal Lahore, Monthly Jugnu Lahore, Monthly Chanda, Monthly Anokhi Kahaniyan Karachi, and others that shaped everyday reading for Urdu speaking children. Alongside these serials are hundreds of shorter storybooks and chapbooks with titles like Aladdin aur Latoo Jadugar, Ali Baba Chalis Chor, Ameer Hamza aur Majosi Jadugar, Ameer Hamza aur Siah Deo, Anglo Banglo Aur Adam Khoor Jazeera, Anglo Banglo Jado Nagri Mai, Angu Bangu Suraj Nagar Main, Tarzan Aur Adam Khor Jazeera, Tarzan aur Jasoos Larkian, and Tarzan Aur Aag Devta. Many of these were sold cheaply at neighborhood bookstalls and never meant to last.
These items were printed on low cost, acidic paper and bound with staples that are now rusting. Corners are frayed, pages are brittle, and covers are beginning to detach. Insect damage, dust, and humidity have already affected a portion of the collection. Without systematic digitization, a significant number of these titles will become unreadable even if the physical copies remain on the shelf. Khajistan is seeking support to digitize this Urdu children’s archive by carefully cleaning and preparing each item, scanning it in high resolution color, lightly restoring damaged pages where possible, and storing the files in open, stable formats for long term preservation. The aim is to protect not only the stories themselves, but also the visual and linguistic worlds through which generations of children learned to read, imagine, and understand their place in society.
To help fund the digitization and preservation of Khajistan’s Urdu children’s books and magazines, please contact info@khajistan.com.
