A volunteer-run project · Est. 2026
Waymark Project
Our first program: Bengal Heritage Archive · বেঙ্গল হেরিটেজ আর্কাইভ
Waymark Project helps families and communities find and keep their history. The Bengal Heritage Archive, its first program, is a small, careful collection of Bengal's written past: full-text books you can read and download here, a catalog of district gazetteers, censuses and ballads held in free digital libraries, family records kept with the family's consent, and a plain guide for diaspora Bangladeshis sorting out birth, NID and land papers.
Start here
Three ways in
I want to find my family's village
- Find your district on the map, or take the district quiz.
- Open that district's gazetteer. Read the chapters on the people, the land and the towns.
- Check the 1901 and 1911 censuses for population, religion and language near you.
- Learn the old land words in the glossary.
I want to request a family record
- Read the records guide to see what birth, ID and land records contain.
- Use the glossary to read terms on an old deed or khatian.
- Go to the official office or website the guide names. We cannot handle applications or documents for you.
I want to read the history
- Skim the timeline for the frame.
- Start with the starred books in the catalog.
- Read what we host in the reading room.
- Read the card's context note before you trust a colonial source.
Inside the site
Where to go
Catalog
Search 40 public-domain books on Bengal, with covers, notes and downloads.
Reading room
Works we host in full, with Read and Download buttons.
Explore
A district map, a short quiz to find your family's district, and a timeline.
Records guide
What birth, ID and land records tell a family researcher, where the official copies are held, and a glossary of old terms.
Family papers
What we hold, who can see it, and how to lend a box of papers.
About
Who runs this, how we choose what goes on the site, and our privacy note.
FAQ & contact
Common questions and how to write to us.