National Archives of India: Why is this old building so important?

At a prominent location in central Delhi, at the crossing of Janpath and Rajpath Roads, stands a large building called the National Archives of India (NAI).  On May 30, 2021, the Delhi High Court refused an appeal to stop the on-going construction of the Central Vista Project in Delhi. While the main NAI building will probably remain unaffected, its Annexe building is to be demolished for the project. This keeps hitting the news often. Let’s see today why NAI is so important that it has people worried.  

What is the NAI?

The National Archives of India (NAI) was established as the Imperial Records Department in Kolkata on 11th March 1891 by the British. It was transferred to New Delhi in 1911 to a temporary campus, and the present building was completed in 1926. Since this is the government’s chief archival facility, centuries of India’s history lie in the documents of the NAI. Archival records include 4.5 million files, 25,000 rare manuscripts, more than 1,00,000 maps, political treaties, 2,80,000 pre-British era documents and several thousand private papers. The Annexe building, which is to be demolished, contains a huge chunk from these documents, many of which are not even catalogued yet, and many are not open to public.  

Who uses the NAI records?

The NAI is the custodian of all public records of the Government of India, and are available for anyone who wants to use them for research purpose. Access to the records of NAI is governed by the Public Records Rules of 1997. Indian researchers have to submit a letter of introduction from their sponsoring university/institution/company, and seek permission to access specific records in an application form available with NAI. Foreigners can also access NAI records with letters from their organisation and from their embassy in India. A lot of university scholars, professors, authors and journalists keep using NAI’s library facilities.  

What will happen if the NAI Annexe is demolished? 

Documents at NAI are rare, old, delicate, and brittle. Once lost, they cannot be replaced. Many documents, maps and treaties are important not just for India, but for the world in terms of historical and political value. Archivists, scholars, historians, students, authors and researchers from across the world have called for transparency in the proposed demolition of the annexe building.