Introduction

The Maharashtra State Archives or the Directorate of Archives is now developed into the Central Archival Agency of the Government of Maharashtra. The Archival Repositories of Mumbai, Pune and Kolhapur are an important legacy of the past and a great national asset. Two more regional offices, at Aurangabad and Nagpur have been opened in recent years and they will add to the archival treasure in the near future.

These Archives are the outcome of non-current records of the Government since the past more than three centuries embodying experiences of the people who built up the history. The Record Offices no longer remain mere repositories of records. They are called upon to perform a very useful function of making the experience of the Government and the people of the province or state as embodied in record and related material available to guide and assist the Government and the people in planning and conducting their activities. The Records are preserved for posterity because of their continual utility for the necessary Government processes for protection of public and private rights and above all for research by scholars and students of history. The Administrator and Historian, thus, stand on common ground when they insist on proper preservation, upkeep and arrangement of records.

Preservation of the records for the Administrator and the Historian was the basic need for the establishment of the Record Offices. It may be noted here that necessity of taking early and decisive measures for ascertaining and securing the rights and interests of the various classes connected with landed property led to the establishment of a General Record Office at Fort William in 1820 and the Government of Bombay was asked to adopt similar arrangement in the Presidency of Bombay. Prior to this, Secretariat Record lay in the custody of the Secretary to the council Bombay Record Office was established in August 1821 to receive and deposit records of the Secretary’s Office and of other offices in the Presidency Town. Mr. William Wissencraft was the first Record Keeper in charge of the Bombay Record Office. Duties of the Record keeper were: Receiving the Government Records in custody and those of the subordinate public offices, arranging the same and issuing such as may be required for references, superintending the establishment maintained to keep the records clean and in order and directing the arrangements for the safety and protection of public records.