Karnataka State Archives Department Government of Karnataka

Overview

The Karnataka State Archives Department is the official archival institution of the Government of Karnataka, India. Based in Bengaluru, it is responsible for the preservation, management, and provision of access to historically important government and private records relating to Karnataka and the former Mysore State.

History and Founding

The Karnataka State Archives Department was established in Bangalore (now Bengaluru) in 1972. Its holdings extend back to 1866, encompassing records from the Mysore royal family, the freedom movement, state unification, and administrative proceedings. The Mysore Regional Office, established in 1984, houses over 15,000 files related to the erstwhile Mysore royal family, some dating more than 160 years. The Karnataka government introduced a Records Management Act in 2013 to strengthen the classification and protection of public documents.

Collections and Holdings

The department holds approximately 25,000 books in its library, with historical, cultural, social, religious, and literary content alongside government reports and parliamentary debates. A microfilm unit contains over 1.8 million historically significant documents, including old newspapers, private collections, proceedings of the Government of Mysore, and official gazettes. Records covering 1866 to 2019 are held and relate to state unification, the independence movement, and administrative history. Over 1.2 crore (12 million) records have been digitized and are available on the government's digital heritage portal.

Access and Usage

The department supports reference services for research scholars at its Bengaluru headquarters and four regional offices in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Kalaburagi, and Dharwad. Digitized records are accessible through kannadasiri.kar.nic.in. Physical materials are available for on-site consultation by researchers with appropriate credentials.