An archive opens your eyes to an unknown past, a past shrouded in mystery; a rich repository of yore to understand the present.
Introduction
Kerala State Archives Department is an independent body set up in 1962. The antecedents of the Department can be traced to the Thiruvithancore Husoor Vernacular Records of 1887 and Central Records formed in Cochin in 1901. At the 34th meeting of the Indian Historical Records Commission held in Thiruvananthapuram during the tenure of the EMS – led government in 1958, it was recommended that all the states in India take steps to establish such departments.
It vests with the State Archives Department to collect and preserve the records of permanent value of the State Government and other Departments.
The main functions of the Department include, among others, the custody, care and management of records received in the Archives, acquiring documents of historical value, rendering technical advice and assistance on management and preservation of records to various departments and institutions, publishing of archival materials, creating awareness about archival materials among the public by organising exhibitions, seminars, historical research, besides providing the Government with such materials for the smooth conduct of administration. Today, the Archives Department is a treasure trove that caters to the needs of the wider academic community in general and researchers in particular.
