The Centre’s top law officer, attorney general KK Venugopal, digitally scanned 591 of his antiquarian book collection dating from the 17th century and uploaded them on the website www.kkvlibrary.com to make it available to everyone.
The books cover a wide range of topics from religion, mythology, Vedas, Indian art and sculpture, historical battles, travel and British Empire in India.
The oldest book in the collection, ‘Some years travels into the diverse parts of Asia and Africa’ by Sir Thomas Herbert, dates back to the year 1638.
The books are not protected by copyright in India, either because their copyright has expired or because the books are not covered under the Indian copyright laws. Anyone located in India may read and download them.
However, the website makes it clear that readers who are not in India must check the laws in their territory before downloading any of the content on the website.
The website also states that the books have been uploaded for personal or research use only, and not for commercial use or exploitation.
