README.md

---
language:
- hi
license: other
task_categories:
- optical-character-recognition
- image-classification
- computer-vision
tags:
- handwriting
- devanagari
- hindi
- ocr
- document-intelligence
- computer-vision
pretty_name: Hindi Handwriting Dataset (Sample)
size_categories:
- n<1K
---

# Hindi Handwriting Dataset (Sample)

## Dataset Description

This repository contains a **sample subset of 200 handwritten Hindi (Devanagari) document images** from **DohaScript**, a multi-writer handwriting dataset. Each image corresponds to a unique writer and has been collected with the participant's **informed consent**.

The dataset is intended for **research and educational purposes**, particularly in handwriting recognition, Optical Character Recognition (OCR), document intelligence, and related computer vision tasks.

> **Note:** This repository contains **only 200 samples**. The complete **DohaScript** dataset comprises **531 handwritten pages from 531 unique writers**.

---

# Dataset Statistics

## Sample Dataset (This Repository)

| Attribute | Value |
|-----------|-------|
| Language | Hindi (Devanagari) |
| Images | 200 |
| Contributors | 200 unique writers |
| Image Format | JPG |
| Data Modality | Handwritten document images |
| Metadata Available | Gender, Age, District, Latitude, Longitude |
| Personally Identifiable Information | None |
| Consent Obtained | Yes |

## Full DohaScript Dataset

| Attribute | Value |
|-----------|-------|
| Total Pages | 531 |
| Unique Writers | 531 |
| Language | Hindi (Devanagari) |
| Corpus | Six Hindi Dohas (89 words) |

---

# Repository Structure

```
.
├── images/
│   ├── F-18-GAYA.jpg
│   ├── F-21-MADHUBANI.jpg
│   ├── M-18-JAMMU.jpg
│   └── ...
├── metadata.csv
└── README.md
```

---

# File Naming Convention

Each image follows the format

```
X-NN-DDDD.jpg
```

where `DDDD` is a variable-length district label.

### Fields

### Gender (`X`)

- `M` → Male
- `F` → Female

### Age (`NN`)

Age of the participant in years.

Examples:

```
18
23
45
```

### District (`DDDD`)

The participant's hometown district.

Example filenames:

```
F-18-GAYA.jpg
F-21-MADHUBANI.jpg
M-18-JAMMU.jpg
```

---

# Metadata

Each handwriting image has a corresponding entry in **metadata.csv**.

| Column | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| `S. No.` | Unique sample identifier |
| `Filename` | Image filename |
| `Gender` | Writer gender (`M` or `F`) |
| `Age` | Age of the writer (years) |
| `City` | Home district/city of the participant |
| `Latitude` | Latitude of the district/city |
| `Longitude` | Longitude of the district/city |

The metadata enables demographic and geographic analyses while preserving participant privacy. No personally identifiable information is included.

---

# Data Collection

- One handwritten page per participant
- Individual volunteers
- Informed consent obtained before data collection
- Collected solely for research and educational purposes
- Personally identifiable information removed prior to release

---

# Intended Uses

This dataset can be used for research in:

- Hindi Handwriting Recognition
- Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
- Document Intelligence
- Writer Identification and Analysis
- Computer Vision
- Pattern Recognition
- Machine Learning
- Educational Projects

---

# Out-of-Scope Uses

This dataset **must not** be used for:

- Biometric identification
- Surveillance
- Profiling individuals
- Commercial deployment without permission

---

# Privacy and Ethics

The dataset has been curated following ethical research practices.

- No names or personal identifiers are included.
- No addresses are provided.
- Demographic information is limited to age and gender.
- Geographic information is provided only at the district/city level.
- All participants voluntarily contributed their handwriting with informed consent.

Users of this dataset are expected to uphold the same ethical standards.

---

# Citation

If you use this dataset in a publication, thesis, benchmark, report, or research project, **please cite the DohaScript paper.**

## Paper

**DohaScript: A Large-Scale Multi-Writer Dataset for Continuous Handwritten Hindi Text**

**arXiv:** https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.18089

### BibTeX

```bibtex
@article{singh2026dohascript,
  title={DohaScript: A Large-Scale Multi-Writer Dataset for Continuous Handwritten Hindi Text},
  author={Singh, Kunwar Arpit and Prakash, Ankush and Lone, Haroon R},
  journal={arXiv preprint arXiv:2602.18089},
  year={2026}
}
```

---

# License

This dataset is released **for research and educational purposes only**.

Commercial use requires explicit permission from the authors.

Redistribution should retain this README and the citation information.

---

# Contact

For questions, permission requests, or issues regarding the dataset, please open an issue in this repository.