India, Sept. 6 -- Long before sociology became a popular subject in Indian universities, the University of Mumbai had already begun building a space for the study of society. Established in 1919, the university's department of sociology is the oldest centre of teaching and research in sociology and anthropology in India. It was also the first post-graduate teaching department of sociology in India and the second of its kind in South Asia.

More than a century later, the department is preparing to open a new chapter by initiating a pilot project to digitise its records. Titled 'Survey and Digitisation of the Legacy of the Discipline of Sociology in India: Records of the University of Mumbai', the project will start by surveying, cataloguin...