The Narendra Modi government’s Central Vista project in New Delhi looks to demolish the National Museum of India, the Indira Gandhi Nationa...
The Narendra Modi government’s Central Vista project in New Delhi looks to demolish the National Museum of India, the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, and the annexe of the National Archives of India. The National Archives Museum, which is housed within the National Archives building, is also under renovation. The immediate future of the contents of these institutions is unclear.
Particularly as far as the texts from the National Archives are concerned, there has been little disclosure on the processes of the transfer of files, any imminent division of the registers, and any consequent changes to cataloguing. Will files pertaining to specific ministries be redirected to their respective historical divisions? What will be done to ensure the safety and integrity of the holdings that are yet to be declassified and therefore, haven’t ever been accessed by a general readership? Who will appraise the condition of both temporary and permanent collections and what compliance will be enforced upon them? What do these sweeping changes mean for historians and other users of the archives?
There are no clear answers to any of these issues in blatant disregard of the mission statement of the National Archives of India that says the organisation seeks to...
