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 The
records holdings in the National Archives run into 40 Kms. of shelf-space
area and are in a regular series from the year 1748 onwards though there
are stray records of the earlier period as well. These are in English,
Arabic, Hindi, Persian, Sanskrit, Modi, Urdu etc., Apart from records on
paper, we also have records on palm leaf, birch bark, parchment etc. The
records are broadly of four categories : Public
Records, Oriental Records, Manuscripts and Private Papers. These records throw
light on the activities of the later Mughals, the East India Company and
British Rule and the emergence and growth of the freedom struggle in India.
They also shed valuable light on our social, political, economic and
cultural life. In addition, there is a rich collection of Private Papers
and more than 7500 microfilm rolls of records acquired from different
countries such as Canada, Germany, Malaysia, Myanmar, United Kingdom,
United States, France, Russia etc.
The total
holdings in the custody of National Archives of India comprise the
following :
1.
38,75,332 files
2.
64,221 volumes
3.
1,10,332 maps and cartographic items
4.
3,601 Bills assented to by the President(s) of India
5.
1,065 Treaties
6.
2,442 rare manuscripts
 National Archives
of India has in its custody, a rich collection of Private Papers which have
been acquired mainly through donations and gifts from a variety of sources.
These papers constitute a valuable supplement to the information contained
amongst public records. Major collection of Private Papers are those of
Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Dadabhai Naoroji, M R Jayakar, Maulana
Azad, G.K. Gokhale, Sardar Patel, P.D. Tandon, INA Files, Minoo Masani
Papers etc.
An equally
rich collection of about 1.5 lakhs documents is available among the
Oriental Records comprising mss, parwanas, hukums, kharitas, farmans, etc.,
in Persian, Arabic, Urdu etc., Among the rare and valuable collections of
documents are the Fort William College Collection, Inayat Jang Collection,
Mathura Documents, Gujarat documents, Haldiya Papers etc., All these papers
are available for consultation as per the Public
Record Rules, 1997.
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