Time capsules

Ahead of the laying of the foundation stone for the Ram temple in Ayodhya, claims and denials have emerged about plans by the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust to put in a time capsule, or ‘kaal patra’.

What is a time capsule?

• It is a container of any size or shape, which accommodates documents, photos, and artefacts typical of the current era and is buried underground, for future generations to
• The time capsule requires special engineering so that the contents do not decay, even if pulled out after a century.

Material Used

• Material such as aluminium and stainless steel are used for the encasing, and documents are often reproduced on acid-free paper.

Other place in India where these capsules are used

• One-time capsule was placed at outside the Red Fort and placed underground in 1972 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, was dug out by the subsequent government.
• Other time capsules are at a school in Mumbai, IIT-Kanpur, Lovely Professional University in Jalandhar, and Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar.
• Recently on March 6, 2010, President Pratibha Patil buried the time capsule on the IIT Kanpur campus.
• In this an aerial map of the institute, annual reports of 1961, 1984 and 2008, a menu of the hostel mess, the blazer crest, a DVD of a film on IIT Kanpur, some photographs, and oral records of the interviews conducted by Sunil Shanbag are inside the time capsule.

Historical Background of Time Capsule

• The term “time capsule” was coined in the 20th century, among the earliest examples of one date back to 1777, found by historians inside the statue of Jesus Christ in a church in Spain during restoration work in December 2017.
• The International Time Capsule Society (ITCS), based in the US and formed in 1990, is now defunct but continues estimating the number of time capsules in the world.
• As per its database, there are “10,000-15,000 times capsules worldwide”.

UPSC