A picture from the Illustrated London News of 1857 showing two sepoys in Mumbai tied to cannon before being blown to bits after being implicated for plotting in the Mutiny. (Drill havaldar Sayed Hussein and sepoy Mangal Guddrea were executed for participating in the Mutiny)

NEW DELHI: Records related to the 1857 mutiny are in Urdu and not in a condition to be copied, according to National Archives of India (NAI), which expressed its inability to provide an RTI applicant with the information.Right to Information (RTI) activist Salim Beg, who filed the query, also wanted to know details about the freedom fighters up to the end of the British rule.On the query seeking information on those who contributed in the 1857 mutiny and on various movements and meetings related to freedom struggle, the NAI said, "The records are available with the department in Urdu and are not in a condition to be copied."Replying to the query related to freedom fighters, the department said, "Providing this information needs a lot of analysis."And in the absence of definitive context, eg. file number, department/ ministry, branch/section sharing the information warrants a lot of research. As per the rules, Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) needs to provide information available with government bodies and not conduct researches on behalf of any applicant," the RTI reply said.The NAI said that extensive records relating to that period are available with it and any Indian citizen is entitled to access and study them on any working day, according to the Public Records Act, 1993.