DNA:
New Delhi: Sunday, 06 December 2015.
The central
government on Friday handed over the first batch of 33 files related to Netaji
to the National Archives of India, setting the stage for their declassification
beginning on January 23, 2016. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his meeting
with the extended family of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on October 14 had
assured that the files labeled classified so far will be made public.
Principal
secretary in the PMO Nripendra Misra, on Friday officially handed over the
first set of files related to Netaji to the Director General, National Archives
of India Serya Guha. Emphasizing that history cannot be created by those who
forget their own history, the Prime Minister had categorically stated that his
government did not believe in constraining or strangulating history in any way,
and was committed to opening up information on Netaji to the people of India.
According to an RTI reply, the PMO had said there were a total of 58 files
related to Netaji in its custody. Recently the government told Rajya Sabha that
there were 134 classified files which are being examined for the purpose of
declassification.
In a written
reply, minister of state for home affairs Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary said,
"Government is examining all the files in its custody for the purpose of
declassifying the same. "As per available records on date, Ministry of
Home Affairs is in possession of 12 files. Among these 12 files, three files
are classified and nine files are unclassified," the minister said. He
said as per available record, as on date, the Prime Minister's Office is in
possession of 58 files.
Prime
Minister had assured Netaji's family that all possible effort towards the same
would be made, from the declassification of Netaji files to taking up the
matter with other nations. He had further promised that the declassification
and public release of the files would begin on 23rd January, 2016, the Birth
Anniversary of Netaji. "Working towards this commitment, the government
has been undertaking the process of due diligence stipulated under
declassification procedures and guidelines," said a government spokesman.
He said the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of External Affairs were
separately taking action for release of files under their custody. "This
marks an important milestone in fulfilling the long pending demand of the
people of India, for the declassification of files related to Netaji," he
said.
The Centre
last April had also set up a committee headed by the cabinet secretary to
review the Official Secrets Act in the light of increasing demands for
declassification of the files on Netaji. Early this year, it had emerged that
the Intelligence Bureau had spied on Bose's family for over 20 years starting
under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's government. In past, the government had
stonewalled all queries related to these files, saying their declassification
will hamper India's relations with some foreign countries.
Most
democracies in the world declassify secret documents after 25 to 30 years. But
in India the Official Secrets Act an archaic law perpetuated by the government
hampers access to government material even for research purposes. In the US,
declassification is automatic after 25 years - with nine exceptions - while in
the UK, all classified files are reviewed after 30 years to ascertain whether
they still need to be kept under wraps. India amended the 1925 Act in 1967, but
instead of making it liberal, made it it even more stringent.
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