Department of Rare Paper Manuscripts Even though allied to the Department of Palmleaf Manuscripts, this unit has been exclusively functioning in view of the abundance of paper scripts. Area of research contemplated is to bring out the histories of culture, society, politics and economics pertaining to the State of Tamil Nadu. The archives of the Department contain 320 Tamil literary scripts, 625 rare printed books, 300 letters and 25 maps. The uniqueness of the Department is its collection of innumerable Modi records and documents presently kept in about 1000 packs. Those who work for M.Phil. and Diploma in the Department are entrusted with the job of legibly copying down the scripts and editing them for Publication. Most of these Modi records and a few of the Telugu scripts are of the 17th and 18th Centuries. They are bound to help us to reconstruct the 17th Century Tamilagam, a murky area in the history of Tamil Nadu. Academic programmes include a P.G. Course in Tamilology and Editing, M.Phil and Ph.D.

Other Departments in Manuscriptology Department of Palmleaf Manuscriptology Department of Epigraphy Department of Underwater Archaeology Centre