National Archives of India, National archives in Delhi, India.
The National Archives of India is a national repository in Delhi housed in a building along Janpath Road that blends Mughal architectural elements with Western design features across its substantial stone structure. The complex includes reading rooms and document viewing areas for accessing the collections.
The institution was founded in Calcutta in 1891 as the Imperial Record Department and relocated to Delhi in 1911 when the capital shifted to that city. Since then, it has served as the central repository for the nation's administrative and historical records.
The building safeguards records written in multiple languages, including English, Arabic, Hindi, Persian, Sanskrit, and Urdu. This linguistic diversity reflects the layers of different rulers who governed India over centuries.
Visitors can consult the collections in dedicated reading rooms equipped with document viewing systems and digital catalogs. It is worth checking in advance which materials are available and what access requirements apply.
The Abhilekh-Patal online portal allows remote access to digitized collections and archival documents without needing to visit the location. This digital system has enabled thousands of researchers worldwide to access Indian records from anywhere.
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