INTRODUCTION TO IIMB ARCHIVES

The Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) was registered under the Mysore Societies’ Registration Act, 1960 on 27th March 1972. IIMB was formally inaugurated by Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi on 28^th October 1973 at the Ravindra Kalakshetra, in the presence of Sri Devaraj Urs, then Chief Minister of Karnataka, Mr. T. A. Pai, Chairman, and board members of IIMB, the Director, faculty and staff, among others. The Golden Jubilee of the Institute in 2023 has seen it emerge as one of the leading management institutions in India and among the top institutions globally.

The initiative to set up the IIMB Archives was mooted in June 2017 setting in motion multi-pronged and multimedia projects to record IIMB’s journey as an institution and to set up a repository of documents -- physical and digitized, audio-visual records, photographs, artefacts and other records of the founding and evolution of the Institute, including its iconic architecture. An important aspect of the Archives is the Oral History Project which is a record of the remembered experiences of key players by way of personal interviews, supported by prompts about events and issues identified through archival research. The IIMB Archives also include the output of the IIMB History Project which was mooted in 2017 to document the institute’s journey from its inception to the Golden Jubilee of the Institute in 2023. A series of publications, films, video/ audio outputs were released during the Golden Jubilee year and celebrations. These include books recording the experiences and reminiscences of the former directors of IIMB as they steered the Institute, and books commemorating the architecture of the campus and its flora and fauna; films commemorating the IIMB journey towards excellence and memories of its alumni from the formative years of the institute to the present.

The IIMB Archives would be of particular interest to researchers, academicians and students looking into the evolution of management thought, education, governance and institutions in India, the growth of the business ecosystem, particularly in Bangalore, accounts of business leaders, architectural history, and associated subjects. It would be of special interest to those seeking information on the founders and personalities associated with the Institute, and to the many students, faculty, staff, alumni numbering over 25,000, and myriad others who have been associated with the institute in some capacity.