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 1,70,000 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.
The Ministry of Culture has initiated action for networking of five major Libraries i.e.
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.
Research Room of National Archives of India can be visited on any weekdays (Monday – Friday) from 9.30 AM to 5.30 PM on all days except Saturdays and other Government Holidays for completion of registration process.
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.
All material available in the Library is available for consultation only in the Reading Room of the Library.
All users are requested to sign the Attendance Register on their arrival.
Each scholar is normally permitted to requisition upto four books at a time.
Requests for Xerox/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
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S.No. |
Research & Reference |
Indian Scholar |
Foreign Scholar |
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1 |
Negative Microfilm |
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Rate Per Exposure |
Rs.6.00 |
Rs.40.00 |
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Minimum Charges |
Rs.100.00 |
Rs.150.00 |
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2 |
Positive Microfilm |
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Rate Per Meter |
Rs.46.00 |
Rs.300.00 |
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Minimum Charges |
Rs.100.00 |
Rs.150.00 |
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3 |
Photo Copying |
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Rate for Size 600 Sq Cm or part thereof |
Rs.46.00* |
Rs.500.00* |
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Minimum Charges |
Rs.100.00 |
Rs.500.00 |
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4 |
Processing of 35mm Microfilm |
Rs.145.00 |
Rs.400.00 |
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5 |
Special copying:- As per estimate in each case depending upon cost. Labour and material |
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6 |
plain paper Copies |
Rs.3.00** per copy |
Rs.6.00 per copy |
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7 |
Cost of 35 x 30 meter microfilm Spool & Can |
Rs.30.00 |
Rs.30.00 |
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8 |
Reader Printer Copy |
Rs.7.00 per copy |
Rs.30.00 per copy |
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9 |
Search Fee |
Rs.125.00 per day |
Rs.125.00 per day |
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* The cost of making negatives when required will be extra.
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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.
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.
Books should be returned to the Counter Staff by 5.00 p.m.
a. GAZETTES
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 Annexures II & III).
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:
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:
This Series comprises the following Volumes:
These volumes cover the following States:
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:-
(For complete list please see Annexure IV)
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:
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:
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.
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.
This is an exhaustive list containing information about the officers of the Indian Civil Service as well as the Indian Administrative Service from 1886.
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:
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.
These volumes covering the period (1877-1988) deal with the history, politics, literature and chronological events in England and other British colonies.
These volumes deal with public activities, social, cultural, industrial, educational events concerning India during the period (1919-47)
Another useful reference aid, it contains information about India’s population, commerce, trade, commercial organizations as well as biographical data of important persons.
This is another valuable publication containing information about various items , persons and events specially related to Calcutta from 1885-1957.
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:-
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.
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Vol. I |
(Public 1748-56) |
Editor Dr. K.K. Datta |
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Vol. II |
(Public 1757-59) |
Editor Dr. H.N. Sinha |
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Vol. III |
(Public 1760-63) |
Editor Dr. R.R. Sethi |
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Vol. IV |
(Public 1764-66) |
Editor Prof. C.S. Srinivasachari |
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Vol. V |
(Public 1767-69) |
Editor Dr. N.K. Sinha |
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Vol. VI |
(Public 1770-72) |
Editor Dr. Bisheshwar Prasad |
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Vol. VII |
(Public 1773-76) |
Editor Prof. R.P. Patwardhan |
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Vol. VIII |
(Public 1777-1781) |
Editor Dr. H.L. Gupta |
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Vol. IX |
(Public 1782-85) |
Editor Dr. B.A Saletore |
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Vol. X |
(Public 1786-88) |
Editor Dr. Raghubir Singh |
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Vol. XI |
(Public 1789-92) |
Editor Dr. I.B Banerjee |
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Vol. XII |
(Public 1793-95) |
Editor Dr. A. Tripathi |
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Vol XIII |
(Public 1796-95) |
Editor Dr. P.C Gupta |
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Vol. XIV |
(Secret & Select Committee 1752-86) |
Editor Prof. Amba Prasad |
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Vol. XV |
(Foreign and Secret Political, 1787-91) |
Editor Prof. C.H Phillips and Dr. B.B Mishra |
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Vol. XVI |
(Foreign Secret and Political, 1787-91) |
Editor Prof. S.H. Askari |
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Vol. XVII |
(Foreign Political and Secret, 1792-95) |
Editor Prof. Y.J Taraporewalla |
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Vol. XVIII |
(Foreign Political and Secret, 1798-1800) |
Editor Rev. Fr, H. Heras |
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Vol. XIX |
(Military, 1787-91) |
Editor Dr Bisheshwar Prasad |
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Vol. XX |
(Military, 1792-96) |
Editor Dr. A.C Banerjee |
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Vol. XXI |
(Military, 1797-1800) |
Editor Prof. S.R. Kohli |
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:
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.
ANNEXURE 1
Provincial Gazettes in National Archives of India Regional Office, Bhopal
ANNEXURE II
Census of India Reports in National Archives of India
Pre 1947 period Post 1947 period :
ANNEXURE III
Reports of Regional Census in National Archives of India
ANNEXURE IV
Selections of Vernacular Native NewsPapers :