Introduction

The National Archives of India was set up in 1891 at Calcutta as the Imperial Record Department to act as the Central Record Office of the Government of India. At the time of its establishment, it was felt that a Central Library may also be set up as an adjunct of the Imperial Record Department and also act as the apex body to different Departmental Libraries. The proposal was accepted and a large number of Books. Periodicals and other government publications were transferred to the Central Library from various offices However in 1903, an Imperial Library (later redesignated National Library) was set up and most of the holdings of the Central Library were transferred to it, leaving behind duplicate copies.The Central Library which hereafter functioned as a “Spare Copy Room”, became the Library of the Imperial Record Department.

Following the decision to transfer the Imperial Record Department to Delhi, the books and publications in the Central Library were sorted out and classified into three groups viz: (i) those to be transferred to the Imperial Record Department in New Delhi, (ii) those to be transferred to the Imperial Secretariat Library (later Central Secretariat Library), and (iii) those which were to be disposed off. Accordingly, transfer of the material to the Imperial Record Department was completed in 1937 and the Library settled down in its new home.

Over the years, the Library has developed into a rich research oriented Library providing a wide range of services to scholars, trainees, government agencies, and other interested users. It presently has in its custody over 1.9 lakh publications comprising Rare books, Reports, Parliamentary Papers and Debates,Monographs, Gazettes, Gazetteers, Travelogues, Native Newspapers, Journals etc which constitute a most valuable supplementary source of information to the material contained among official records. These publications cover a variety of subjects like modern history and politics, culture, demography, archives, economics, social science, gender studies, tribal studies etc. With the rapid strides being made in information technology, the Library is gearing itself to adopt modern technology to facilitate the task of scholars and make its services more user friendly.

Objectives

• To collect the significant publications on Modern Indian History.
• To preserve the publications for research purpose.
• To serve as a supplement to the records housed in the National Archives of India.
• To disseminate information to its users.
• To serve as a epitome of national identity.

 Services

• Online Public Access Catalogue
• DELNET services
• Reprographic Services
• CAS/SDI Services
• News paper clipping Services
• Reference / Referral Services
• E-library services
• Ask a librarian

Access to Library 

• Users of Library
• Registration Process and Timings
• Working Hours and Holidays
• Library Reading Room
• Users’ Attendance
• Requisition for books
• Reprographic Facilities
• Users’ Responsibility
• Issue/Return of Books 
• General Guidelines for Users
• Major Holdings

Users of Library
The National Archives of India Library is a Research/Reference Library, which caters to the needs of Ministries/ Departments, in connection with official work, bonafide Research Scholars, Trainees, Universities and other Institutions and individuals engaged in historical research.

Registration Timings
(Link with registration process and timings of Research Room)

Working hours and Holidays
The Library is open on all weekdays from 9.30 A.M. to 6.00 P.M. It remains closed on Saturdays, Sundays and Government holidays.

Library Reading Room
All material available in the Library is available for consultation only in the Reading Room of the Library.

User’s Attendance
All users are requested to sign the Attendance Register on their arrival.?

Requisition for books
Each scholar is normally permitted to requisition up to four books at a time.

Reprographic facilities
Requests for Xerox(plain paper copies)/photocopies may be made as per prescribed charges and rules upto 4.30 p.m. on all working days.(Reprographic Services)

Rates for Reprographic Services (Click here)

Material on Loan
Ministries/ Departments and other Government agencies desirous of obtaining Gazettes/ books from the Library on loan should send their requisitions through the Librarians or Departmental Heads as the case may be. In all other respects, the General Rules of the Library will apply.

User’s Responsibility
Damaged books and publications in a bad state of preservation are not normally issued. The borrowers will be personally responsible for the custody and safe return of the books borrowed by them. A book lost or damaged in any way by a borrower shall have to replace the same or meet the cost of the book. The evaluation of the cost will rest with the Director General of Archives.

Return of Books etc.
Books should be returned to the Counter Staff by 5.00 p.m.

General Guidelines for Users

• No scholar will have direct access to the shelves.
• Use of Mobile phones is prohibited in the Library.
• Personal books and belongings are not permitted in the Library Reading Room. These may kindly be kept in the lockers provided for the purpose.
• Smoking, eating or taking tea is not permitted in the Library.
• Silence may please be maintained in the Library. 

Major Holdings

• Books and Reports.
• Journals and Periodicals.
• Publications in Foreign Languages.
• Gazettes.
• Proscribed Publications.
• Selections from Vernacular Native News papers.
• Selections from Government of India/ State Government Records.
• Volumes of Indian Parliamentary Papers.
• Volumes of Fort William College Collection.
   

Short Introduction to Collections

GAZETTES

• India Gazette (1864 onwards):- One of the most important holdings of the Library, is the India Gazette which is a unique document containing information about various Acts, Rules, Legislations passed by the Parliament, in addition to information about key appointments, and Orders of the Government.
• Calcutta Gazette (1792-1863):- The Calcutta Gazette began publication in 1784 and was not initially a government publication, but was owned and managed by an official of the East India Company.The volumes contain important information about the history, polity and society during the Imperial days in Calcutta and subsequently about Government orders, rules relating to Bengal.
• London Gazette (1810-1954):- It is one of the most respected and important journals of record of the British Government which began publication in 1665.It contains valuable information about Royal Assent to Bills, Appointments, Awards, Honors, etc.
• Provincial Gazettes:- Provincial Gazettes containing information about Acts,Rules, Orders pertaining to different States are housed in the NAI Regional Office Bhopal. (For list please see Annexure I).

CENSUS OF INDIA REPORTS

• The Census Reports (1871 onwards) are a valuable and basic source on demographic studies and contain data about the population, castes, tribes, occupation etc for the use of scholars and other users.(For list of India Census Reports and Provincial Census Reports please see Annexure II & Annexure III).

GAZETTEERS

• Gazetteers are another valuable reference tool providing information about the people, their culture, customs, geographical, linguistic, ethnic data, etc. The Gazetteers in the Department are of three categories viz:
• Imperial Gazetteer of India (India Series):- The Department has 26 Volumes (including index) of the Imperial Gazetteer in its custody.The first edition of the Imperial Gazetteer of India was published in 1881 under the stewardship of Sir W.W.Hunter and contains valuable information about the people of India
• Imperial Gazetteer of India (Provincial Series):- This series focuses on information in respect of various Provinces.
• District Gazetteers:- The District Gazetteers were started privately under the auspices of Government agencies and contain information about each district.

PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES

This Collection consists of recorded proceedings of the British Parliament, which includes Questions, Proceedings relating to India as well as White Papers,Reports of Parliamentary Committees,Reports of Commisioners,Trade and Tariff relating to India etc. Some of the important Volumes in the Collection are:

• Cobett’s Parliamentary History of England (1688-1785)
• The Mirror of Parliament (1829-39)
• Hansard’s Parliamentary Debates (1841-91)
• Hansard’s Parliamentary Debates relating to Indian Affairs (1886-1925)
• Parliamentary Debates (House of Commons) (1934-1948)
• Parliamentary Debates (House of Lords) (1909-1935)
• Sessional Papers (1899-1912)
• Parliamentary Debates (1892-1935)
• Indian Parliamentary Debates (1892-1898)
• Indian Debates (1898-1908)
• Debates on Indian Affairs (1909-35).

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY DEBATES

This Series comprises the following Volumes:

• Proceedings of the Legislative Council of India (1857-1920)
• Legislative Assembly Debates of Indian Legislatures (1921-49)
• Constituent Assembly Debates (1947-50)
• Parliamentary Debates (1950-53)
• Rajya Sabha Debates (1952 onwards)
• Lok Sabha Debates (1954 onwards)

PROVINCIAL LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL DEBATES

These volumes cover the following States:

• Bengal(1862-1932)
• Bombay (1862-1936)
• Burma (1923-35)
• Central Provinces (1916- 32)
• Madras (1922-36)
• Punjab (1926-36)
• United Provinces (1896-1936)

SELECTIONS OF VERNACULAR NATIVE NEWSPAPERS

These are abstracts or summaries of Vernacular Newspapers compiled by the erstwhile Home Department to enable the Government to keep itself informed about activities in various provinces and are a very useful source material relating to public opinion in various States on issues of general interest. Prior to Independence, these Selections were classified as confidential documents and were not meant for public access. Some of the major Reports in the Series are:-

• Report on Native Newspapers,Bengal Presidency (1863-1931)
• Report on Native Newspapers,Bombay Presidency (1868-1932)
• Report on Native Newspapers,Central Provinces, Central India etc (1896-1927)
• Report on Native Newspapers,Eastern Bengal & Assam(1907-11)
• Report on Native Newspapers Madras ( 1872-1911)
• Report on Native Newspapers, N.W.Provinces and Oudh (1890-1937)

 (For complete list please see Annexure IV)

SELECTIONS FROM RECORDS

These volumes contain Selections from important activities and decisions of the British Government and were published for the information and use by the public. They provide useful information about the British administration in India. Notable volumes among the Selections are:

• Government of India 1853-1900
• Bengal Government, 1851-1890
• Bombay Government, 1852-1907
• Punjab Government, 1852-79
• Madras Government, 1853-96

ALMANACS

Another valuable Collection are the Almanacs containing information on statistical accounts, astronomical data, events, civil and military appointments, rules and regulations about the Govt. of India etc. The four volume series comprises of the following:

• Bengal Almanac 1803-54
• Bombay Calendar and Almanac 1836-68
• Madras Almanac 1817-58
• Asylum Press Almanac 1862-1958

COLLECTION OF TREATIES, ENGAGEMENTS AND SANADS RELATING TO INDIA AND NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES

This Collection complied by C.U.Aitchison,Under Secretary to the Government of India, was published originally in 1909. The 14 volumes cover treaties with various states and countries including Punjab, Rajputana, Bundelkhand, Hyderabad, Madras, Jammu & Kashmir, Assam, Persia, Afghanistan, Nepal, Turkistan, Muscat, Baluchistan etc.

INDIA OFFICE LIST

Published in 1933, it is a comprehensive Directory compiled from the Civil Lists of the Government of India and includes service records of officers who served in India and Burma. It also has information about military officers, recipents of medals and awards, rates of pay, pensions, etc.

CIVIL LIST

This is an exhaustive list containing information about the officers of the Indian Civil Service as well as the Indian Administrative Service from 1886.

INDIA ARMY LIST

This document provides the names, rank, postings and service details of Army officers who served in India. There are separate lists for Bombay Bengal and Madras, viz:

• Bombay Army List 1826-1895
• Bengal Army List 1825-1889
• Madras Army List 1826-1894

EAST INDIA REGISTER AND DIRECTORY

These are useful documents containing information about the employees of the East India Company who served in the Civil, Military, Marine establishments, births, marriages and deaths in India, etc.

ANNUAL REGISTER- GREAT BRITAIN

These volumes covering the period (1877-1988) deal with the history, politics, literature and chronological events in England and other British colonies.

INDIAN ANNUAL REGISTER

These volumes deal with public activities, social, cultural, industrial, educational events concerning India during the period (1919-47)

TIMES OF INDIA DIRECTORY (1865-1983)

Another useful reference aid, it contains information about India’s population, commerce, trade, commercial organizations as well as biographical data of important persons.

THACKERS INDIAN DIRECTORY

This is another valuable publication containing information about various items , persons and events specially related to Calcutta from 1885-1957.

PROSCRIBED LITERATURE

This unique collection comprises publications in prose and verse as also pamphlets and posters in various languages including Hindi, English, Urdu, Tamil, Gujarati, Punjabi, Kannada, Bengali These were written during the freedom movement and reflected the strong passions among the freedom fighters which were aimed at arousing patriotic feelings among the public. Consequently, these were banned by the British Government, to prevent them from reaching the people. Some of the significant articles\poems in the Collection are:

• Azadi ka Bigul (Hindi) ed. by K.C.Rastogi
• Azadi Ka Bomb (Hindi), ed. by Jagannath Prasad Arora
• Kanavu (Tamil), by Subramaniam Bharati
• Yug Bani (Bengali), by Qazi Nazrul Islam
• Bijli di Karak (Punjabi), by Darshan Singh Daljit
• Azadi ki Garaj (Punjabi), by Sajjan Singh
• Golibarachi (Marathi), by Shahiv Rao Kokate
• Appeal to my countrymen (English), by S.N.Sanyal
• Azadina Geet (Gujarati), by R.N.Parikh
• Dard-e-Wattan (Urdu), by Om Prakash Sahni
• Angrezon ki bolti band (Urdu), by Babu Ram Doneria
• Bhagat Singh Keerthanamitram (Tamil), by V.R.Elumalai Pillai

TRAVEL ACCOUNTS

These are a series of first hand accounts of foreign travellers who came to India from different countries. Many narratives have been published by the Hakluyt Society which depict the lifestyle, customs, social practices and religious beliefs etc. of the people in different parts of the country and are a valuable source material for study of contemporary history. Some important volumes containing such accounts are:

• Travels in the Himalayan Provinces of Hindustan and the Punjab, in Ladakh, Peshawar, Kabul, by William Moorcroft (1841)
• Journals kept in Hyderabad, Kashmir, Sikkim and Nepal, by Richard Temple (1887).
• India in the Fifteenth Century (translated and edited by Richard Henry Major)
• The Voyage of Sir James Lancaster to the East Indies.
• A new Account of East India and Persia, by John Fryer
• The Travels of Peter Mundy
• Peter Flories, his voyage to the East Indies (1611-15)
• The Original Writings and Correspondence of the two Richard Hakluyts
• The Desert Route to India (1745-51)
• Hakluytus Posthumus or Purchas His Pilgrims
• The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Travels and Discoveries of the English Nation, by Richard Hakluyt.

REPORTS OF COMMITTEES/ COMMISSIONS

This Collection comprises Reports of about 450 Commissions\ Committees appointed by the Government on various subjects from time to time, and provide valuable source material for research. Starting with the Indian Police (Bird) Committee-(Minute of Evidence, 1833) , the Collection contains many Reports of far reaching significance, among which mention may be made of the following:

• Report of the Prison Discipline Committee, 1836-38
• Report (Simms) on the Survey of Calcutta, 1850
• Indian Police Commission Report, 1860
• Indigo Commission Report, 1860
• Report of the Deccan Riots Commission, 1876
• Indian Education Commission Report, 1882
• Bombay Akbaree Commission Report, 1885
• Report on Jail Administration in India 1888-89
• Indian Famine Commission Report, 1901
• Report of the Public Service Commission 1888
• Report of Indian Factory Commission, 1890
• Komagata Maru Committee Enquiry Report, 1914 (Vol. 1)
• Burma Reform Committee Report, 1921
• Burma Crime Enquiry Report, 1923
• Report on Indian Constitutional Reforms, 1924
• Indian Sandhurst Committee Report, 1925-26
• Report of the Riots Enquiry Committee, 1939
• Scavenging Enquiry Committee Report, 1961
• Madras Agricultural Committee Report, 1888-89

PAMPHLETS

• These are a Collection of rare and valuable Articles, Reports, Notes prepared by various organizations and experts, on a wide range of subjects like Education, Agriculture, Medicine, History, Trade, Railways, Religion etc and cover the period 1851-1929. Some important Pamphlets in the Collection are:
• Rabies and anti rabic treatment in India, by Hugh Seton and R.Knowles (1914)
• Review of Forest Administation in several provinces of British India (1873-77), by D.Brandis
• Catalogue of Mandalay Manuscripts in India Office Library, by V.Faushill.
• Travels in Central Asia in the year 1812-13, by Meer Izzat Ollah
• Official key to the Civil Service of the Crown and Guide for candidates seeking appointments by J.C.Parkinson (1859)
• Russian Commercial Mission in Central Asia by V.Christian Sarauv (1872)
• Pukhto or Pushto Manual for use of Surveyors, by G.B.Scott (1896)
• Notes on etymologies of Hindi rural words, by Paul Whalley (1904)
• Classified Catalogue of Sanskrit works in the Saraswati Bhandaram Library of His Highness, Maharaja of Mysore(1870)
• Founding of Fort St. George Madras by William Foster (1902)
• Iranian Art, by Von Spiegel (1886)
• Truth about the Indian Army and its Officers, by Hydaspes (1861)
• Khana: A handbook of resources of India, by G.T. Hugh (1870)

JOURNALS

These provide very useful material for the study of the history, culture and traditions of the Indian people, apart from carrying world wide news about activities and events. Prominent among the holdings are:-
 

FORT WILLIAM-INDIA HOUSE CORRESPONDENCE

The series covers the correspondence between the Court of Directors in London and the Fort William Council from 1748 to 1800.

These are published in-extenso in 21 volumes. Edited by an eminent historian each volume contains the text of the correspondence together with a comprehensive introduction, copious notes, select bibliography and an exhaustive index besides a number of illustrations.

CONTEMPORARY BOOKS ON INDIAN HISTORY

A most significant Collection in the Library are rare and contemporary works on India and its history going back to the 17th century, which are valuable sources for research Some of the titles are listed below:

• The life of Dom John De Castro the Fourth Viceroy of India, by Sr. K. Peter Wyche & Jacinto F.De Andrada (1664)
• Voyage from England to India in the year MDDCLIV (1754), by Edward and Charles Dilly (1773)
• Official documents relating to the Negotiations carried out by Tippoo Sultan, (1799)
• Interesting historical events, relating to the provinces of Bengal and the Empire of Indostan by J.Z.Holwell (1766)
• British Empire in the East, by Count Bjornstjern (1840)
• A view of English interests in India, by William Fullerton (1787)
• History of India, by John Marshman (1807)
• India, by John Strachey (1888)
• Studies Manual of the History of India,by Taylor Meadows (1870)
• Sepoy Revolt by Innes Mcleod (1897)
• Indian Rebellion-its causes and results , by Alexander Duff (1858)
• Brief history of the Indian people,by W.W.Hunter(1897)
• Great Mutiny-India 1857,by Cristopher Hibbert (1878)
• Histories of Non Cooperation and Khilafat Movements, by P.C.Bamford(1925)
• Press list of Mutiny Papers (1921)
• History of Indian Mutiny by GW. Forrest (1893)
• India old and new, by Valentine Chirol (1921)

JANAK DULARI COLLECTION

This is a unique Collection comprising the Inaugural issues of as many as 300 magazines and journals going back to the late 19th and 20th centuries. A brainchild of late Sh.Annapurnanad,a resident of Varanasi., the Collection was gifted to the National Archives by his wife Smt. Janak Dulari These journals were .published from different places including Delhi,Bombay, Lahore,Varanasi,Allahabad,Calcutta,Patna etc,and are primarily in Hindi with a few being in Sanskrit and Urdu They contain articles and features on issues like social ills, women emancipation, world history, national movement, patriotism, politics, etc. Naari Agrasar, Achoot, Janmat, Rashtrapati, Asha, Hans, Tapobhoomi, AdarshBharat, Harischandra, and Hunter are some of the titles found in the Collection.Many notable personalities like Premchand, Madan Mohan Malaviya, Banarsidas Chaturvedi, D.P. Mishra Madame Cama were associated with these journals.