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{{Infobox government agency
| name = National Archives of India
| native_nam = Rāṣhṭrīya Abhilekhāgār
| seal =
| logo = National Archives of India Emblem.jpg
| logo_size = 180
| logo_caption = [[Emblem]] of the National Archives of India
| image = National Archives of India Interiors.jpg
| image_caption = Interiors of the National Archives of India, New Delhi
| formed = {{start date and age|11 March 1891}}
| jurisdiction = Government of India
| employees =
| budget = {{INRConvert|376|c}} (2021–2022)<ref>https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/doc/eb/sbe45.pdf</ref>
| minister1_name = [[G. Kishan Reddy]]
| chief1_name = Shri Chandan Sinha, IAS
| chief1_position = Director General of Archives
| chief2_name =
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| chief3_name =
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| chief4_name =
| chief4_position =
| chief5_name =
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| chief6_name =
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| chief7_name =
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| parent_department = [[Ministry of Culture (India)|Ministry of Culture]]
| website = http://nationalarchives.nic.in/
}}

The '''National Archives of India''' ('''NAI''') is a repository of the non-current records of the [[Government of India]] and holds them in trust for the use of administrators and scholars. Originally established as the Imperial Record Department in 1891, in [[Calcutta]], the capital of [[British India]], the NAI is situated at the intersection of [[Janpath]] and [[Rajpath]], in [[Delhi]]. It functions as an Attached Office of the Department of Culture under the [[Ministry of Culture (India)|Ministry of Culture]], Government of India.<ref>[http://india.gov.in/knowindia/national_archives.php National Archives of India] [[Government of India]] website.</ref>

==History==
[[File:National Archives of India Campus.jpg|thumb|National Archives of India, [[New Delhi]] Campus]]
The Imperial Record Department was set up on 11 March 1891 in [[Calcutta]] (Kolkata). [[George William Forrest|G. W. Forrest]] was named as department head.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=104567 | title=124th Foundation Day Celebrations of National Archives of India | publisher=PIB | date=11 March 2014 | accessdate=12 March 2014}}</ref>

In 1911 the Department was transferred to the new capital, New Delhi, and in 1926 it was shifted into its new building. This was one of four museum and archive buildings planned by its architect [[Edwin Lutyens]] around 'Point B' in the city plan, the intersection of King's Way and Queen's Way. However, only this one was built. It is a building in late [[neo-classical style]], and originally known as the Imperial Record Office.<ref>{{cite news|title=Architectural marvels for the new capital|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/newdelhi/Architectural-marvels-for-the-new-capital/Article1-723169.aspx|publisher=Hindustan Times|date=July 20, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141102085932/http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/newdelhi/Architectural-marvels-for-the-new-capital/Article1-723169.aspx|archive-date=November 2, 2014}}</ref>

[[K. R. Narayanan]], then President of India, declared the "Museum of the National Archives" open to the general public on 6 July 1998. This museum provides a representative overview of the multifarious holdings of the National Archives, and promotes a common man's interest in archival holdings.

The NAI has a Regional Office at [[Bhopal]] and three Record Centres at [[Bhubaneswar]], [[Jaipur]] and [[Pondicherry (city)|Pondicherry]].

==Records==
The holdings in the National Archives are in a regular series starting from the year 1748. The languages of the records include English, Arabic, Hindi, Persian, Sanskrit and Urdu, and their materials include paper, palm leaf, birch bark and parchment. The records are in four categories: Public Records, Oriental Records, Manuscripts and Private Papers.

There has been a certain amount of criticism regarding the lack of care taken in preservation and handling of records.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thewire.in/139420/national-archives-of-india/|title=How the National Archives of India Is Actually Destroying History|last=Shivaram|first=Choodie|website=thewire.in|language=en-GB|access-date=2018-02-06}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xhr2aR-O7c0C&q=In+Delhi+in+the+vaults+of+the+Indian+National+Archives%2C+someone+installing+a+new+air+conditioning+system+had+absentmindedly+left+out+in+the+open+all+six+hundred+volumes&pg=PR42|title=White Mughals: Love and Betrayal in Eighteenth-Century India|last=Dalrymple|first=William|date=2004-04-27|publisher=Penguin|isbn=9781101098127|pages=xlii|language=en|chapter=Introduction}}</ref><ref>...''It is also clear that some of the material is missing....'' https://www.thequint.com/lifestyle/books/book-excerpt-ornit-shani-how-india-became-democratic-election-democracy</ref>

== Exhibitions ==
The National Archives of India also holds regular exhibitions such as the display of declassified files on [[Subhas Chandra Bose]] in 2016 and the recent exhibition, "The Jammu and Kashmir Saga", commemorating 70 years of [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir's]] accession to India which was held from 10 January 2018 to 10 February 2018.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.uniindia.com/exhibition-on-70-yrs-of-j-and-k-s-accession-to-india-inaugurated-by-minister/india/news/1103039.html|title=Exhibition on 70 yrs of J and K's accession to India inaugurated by Minister|date=11 Jan 2018|work=United News of India (UNI)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/national-archives-displays-sanghs-stand-on-jk-plebiscite/articleshow/62465824.cms|title=National Archives displays Sangh's stand on J&K plebiscite - Times of India|work=The Times of India|access-date=2018-02-06}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/editorial/on-archival-wealth/273871.html|title=On archival wealth|date=29 Jan 2018|work=Greater Kashmir}}</ref> Between 1973 and 2015 NAI has held 108 exhibitions on various themes.<ref>LIST OF EXHIBITIONS ORGANISED BY THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF INDIA - 1973 - 2015

http://www.nationalarchives.nic.in/sites/default/files/List_of_exhibitions%281973-2015%29%20%281%29.pdf</ref>

== Abhilekh patal ==
Abhilekh patal is an online portal to access National Archives of India’s reference media and its digitized collections via the internet.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Basu|first=Narayani|title=With archives closed, libraries out of reach, and travel stopped, how will writers research books?|url=https://scroll.in/article/964850/with-archives-closed-libraries-out-of-reach-and-travel-stopped-how-will-writers-research-books|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715135516/https://scroll.in/article/964850/with-archives-closed-libraries-out-of-reach-and-travel-stopped-how-will-writers-research-books|archive-date=2020-07-15|access-date=2020-07-15|website=Scroll.in|language=en-US}}</ref> The name 'Abhilekh patal' comes from the Sanskrit word 'Abhilekh' meaning the records of ancient times and the word 'patal' meaning the platform, board or a surface. It is a work in progress.

== Gallery ==
<gallery widths="200">
File:Shripad Yesso Naik and the Culture Minister of Afghanistan, Dr. Raheem signed an MoU between the National Archives of India and the National Archives of Afghanistan for improved records management practices.jpg|The Culture Ministers of Afghanistan and India signed an MoU between the National Archives of India and the [[National Archives of Afghanistan]]
File:The Minister of State for Culture (Independent Charge), Tourism (Independent Charge) and Civil Aviation, Dr. Mahesh Sharma launching the online search portal of records of the National Archives of India ‘Abhilekh- PATAL’.jpg|Ceremony of launching the online search portal of records of the National Archives of India ‘Abhilekh-PATAL’, 2015
File:National Archives of India.jpg|National Archives of India, New Delhi
</gallery>{{Commons category}}

== See also ==
* [[List of national archives]]
* [[List of archives in India]]

== References ==

<references />

==Further reading==
* Dinyar Patel. "[http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/21/repairing-the-damage-at-indias-national-archives/ Repairing the Damage at India’s National Archives]." New York Times, March 21, 2012.

==External links==
* [http://nationalarchives.nic.in/ National Archives of India, Official Website.]
* [http://www.abhilekh-patal.in Abhilekh-Patal (Portal for access to archives & learning)]

{{Asia topic|title=Asian national archives|prefix=National Archives of}}

{{coord missing|Delhi}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:National Archives Of India}}
[[Category:Archives in India]]
[[Category:Ministry of Culture (India)]]
[[Category:Historiography of India]]
[[Category:National archives|India]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1891]]
[[Category:Neoclassical architecture in India]]
[[Category:Library buildings completed in 1926]]
[[Category:1891 establishments in India]]
[[Category:Works of Edwin Lutyens in India]]

National Archives of India - Revision history

imported>Billjones94 at 15:59, 24 July 2021