NAI has no records of 1962, 1965 and 1971 wars; DG laments various ministries not sharing records

The National Archives of India (NAI) does not have records of 1962, 1965, and 1971 wars and the green revolution as a number of Union ministries and departments have not shared their records with it, according to its Director General Chandan Sinha.

The NAI keeps and conserves records of the government of India and its organisations only. It does not receive classified documents.

Underlining that records management in government is an “essential aspect of good governance,” Sinha said there are several ministries that have not shared their records with the NAI since independence.

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Speaking at the good governance workshop organised by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances on Friday, he noted that there are in all 151 ministries and departments, and the NAI has only records of 64 agencies, including 36 ministries and departments.

“What does it mean… it means we do not have any records in the National Archives of India of the Green Revolution, which we hail all the time, or the wars … 1962 war, the 1965 war, and the 1971 war - the great victory.

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"There are several such issues in certain such areas which I am very sad to share with you that we do not have any records. We are not holding history in trust. Indeed, the question that we must face is that are we losing a large part of our history since independence,” Sinha said.

He also informed that the Defence Ministry had sent till the beginning of this year 476 files after independence.

He said 20,000 files that go up to the year 1960 have been transferred this year, he said.

Sinha said rather than waiting for a special campaign for recording and weeding out of files for records, it is supposed to be done every quarter.

He asserted that there should be no unauthorised destruction of records. In fact, there is a one-year imprisonment for unauthorised destruction of records.

Sinha said an appraisal of records and reviewing and identifying them for transfer to the NAI is a very important aspect of governance.