Archive-Nirbhar India: Ministries must share records with National Archives, which must also get more proactive

Source: The post is based on the article “Archive-Nirbhar India: Ministries must share records with National Archives, which must also get more proactive” published in The Times of India on 27th December 2022. 

Syllabus: GS – 1: Salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

Relevance: About the National Archives of India

News: Record-keeping is central to modern nation-building. In such situations, the poor state of the National Archives of India is a cause for concern.

About the National Archives of India

NAI is the central repository of the government’s non-classified records.

What are the concerns with the NAI?

-There are big gaps, including important national events such as 1962, 1965 and 1971 wars and the Green Revolution.

-There is an institutional culture of secrecy in NAI. NAI is not even seeking timely declassification. On the other hand, in the US, the records are automatically declassified after 25 years.

-The defence ministry has not shared any files with NAI since 1960. Similarly, multiple other departments including agriculture, rural development, and food and consumer affairs have not shared anything ever.

In other words, the NAI is “losing a large part of our history since Independence”.

How NAI can be effective?

NAI provided invaluable information for the building of Central Vista. Its cartographic treasures can be similarly useful in foreign policy. This can be done by providing a) a clear directive to all ministries to share files with NAI, b) proper strengthening of State-level archives, c) Ensuring proper citizen outreach like that of the UK’s National Archives home page.