The Tamil Nadu Archives and Historical Research department has been a vigilant guardian of history for over three centuries, diligently preserving more than 40 crore invaluable documents. This monumental task has been supported by the State government through substantial financial allocations, as announced by Higher Education Minister Govi. Chezhiaan in Chennai on Thursday, September 18, 2025.
During the inauguration of the National Committee of Archivists’ golden jubilee meeting, Minister Chezhiaan highlighted the government’s commitment to preservation. Last year, a generous ₹10 crore was earmarked for implementing the sophisticated Japanese tissue mending technique, and the same allocation has been made this year, underscoring their dedication. Furthermore, to stimulate academic exploration into Tamil Nadu’s rich history, the government is offering a monthly stipend of ₹25,000 to promising young researchers.
The event also saw the Minister unveil two significant publications: ‘Revolts Against British Rule in Tamil Nadu and Supreme Sacrifices Prior to 1857 AD’ and ‘The Four Mysore Wars and the Conquests of Tamil Nadu,’ offering fresh insights into regional history.
Har Sahay Meena, Commissioner of the Tamil Nadu Archives, shared updates from the sidelines, noting that an impressive 8 lakh documents have already been meticulously preserved using the Japanese tissue mending technique, nearing their initial goal of 10 lakh for the year. This method, while a significant investment, has proven highly effective and durable, especially for military records. The Archives now plan to extend this critical preservation work to include revenue records.
Providing a national perspective, Sanjay Rastogi, Director General of Archives for the National Archives of India (NAI), revealed that their pioneering digital platform, abhilek-patal.in, currently hosts nearly 14 million pages of historical data, encompassing public records, personal documents, and rare manuscripts. The NAI is committed to digitizing its entire collection within the next two years, making history more accessible than ever.
Mr. Rastogi also identified a crucial area for improvement: the lack of a comprehensive Centrally-funded scheme for collaboration between the central and state archives. He announced that the NAI is actively developing a new scheme, tentatively named ‘Abhilek-Sampada,’ and encouraged robust discussion on its structure and designation during the two-day archivists’ gathering.
P. Shankar, Higher Education Secretary, emphasized that the newly launched publications brilliantly showcase the extraordinary courage and ultimate sacrifices made by Tamil Nadu’s early freedom fighters, including legendary figures like Puli Thevar, Veerapandiya Kattabomman, the Marudupandiya Brothers, Rani Velu Nachiyar, Hyder Ali, and Tipu Sultan. He eloquently concluded by stating, ‘Archives are far more than mere historical records; they embody a nation’s memory, echo society’s voice, and reflect humanity’s essence. Each archive is a priceless treasure, serving as a vital bridge connecting our past, present, and future.’