Arabi-Malayalam Script, Manuscripts and Literature: Preservation and Digitization of Malabar’s Cultural Heritage

Abstract

Arabi-Malayalam, an adaptation of the Arabic script for Malayalam, represents a vital yet understudied element of Malabar’s cultural and intellectual heritage. Despite its rich literary tradition, scholarly attention remains limited. This study traces its historical evolution, examining its linguistic and literary roles across manuscript and print cultures, and its decline within broader socio-linguistic shifts. It also reviews contemporary preservation and digitisation efforts, including initiatives like the Mappila Heritage Library, while critiquing image-based digitisation for its lack of searchable text. Emphasis is placed on recent advances in Unicode-based standardization, including keyboard design, font development, and annotated bibliographic work, as essential for creating accessible digital resources. The study further evaluates current Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and AI-driven text recognition technologies, highlighting persistent technical challenges. It argues that overcoming these limitations is key to meaningful digital transformation and calls for focused research in OCR development and corpus creation to ensure sustainable preservation and wider accessibility.