Tata Institute to publish Indus script concordance using computerized photo composition

Source: The Hindu Archives, July 28, 1976

Madras, July 27: The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Bombay, will publish the Concordance of the Indus Script using a new printing process that incorporates additional study material.

More than 9,000 "seals" bearing signs and symbols of the Indus script have been discovered at the sites of Mohenjo Daro and Harappa (now in Pakistan) and at Kalibanga in Rajasthan. These valuable finds shed significant light on the Indus Valley civilisation, which dates back 4,000 years. Recently, Finnish scholars studied the seals and prepared a concordance with the help of a computer. Russian researchers have also published a version in their own language.

An Indian scholar, Mr. I. Mahadevan, is now attempting to publish the concordance using computer technology but with a novel approach. Under this "computerised photo composition printing" process—being attempted for the first time in India—all basic symbols of the Indus script will be drawn by an artist and then microfilmed. The text, sign positions, statistical analysis, and other relevant information will be typed and recorded on electronic tapes. The entire content will then be fed into the press.

Each sign will be assigned a code number. The computer will select the appropriate signs from the microfilm and feed them into the press using the photo composition method. This will allow the entire updated concordance—running to approximately 700 pages—to be printed in a short time and made available at a comparatively low cost.

In contrast, the Finnish scholars used a computer plotting method, in which the electronic device itself drew each sign. Under the new technique, a single symbol on the microfilm can be used for multiple impressions.

Published: July 28, 2026 — 03:10 AM IST