The Hindu: Opinion: Thursday, 28 January
2016.
On January
23, Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered on his promise and released 100
files on Subhas Chandra Bose in the presence of the freedom fighter’s family,
which has persisted with its demand for declassifying all documents that could
shed light on his mysterious disappearance and probable death in a plane crash
on August 18, 1945. Mr. Modi also has assured that 25 files will be
declassified each month. But should the declassification of the Netaji files
have required the intervention of the Prime Minister, a process which should
have happened in the natural course of things?
The
disclosures also bring into sharp focus the conflict between the laws passed by
governments, specially those involving secrets, and those involving the Right
to Information (RTI). It’s not that we don’t have a policy with regard to
public records, their maintenance, and their declassification after sufficient
time has elapsed. The Public Records Rules, 1997 prescribe that records more
than 25 years old be reviewed every five years and documents considered fit for
permanent preservation transferred to the National Archives. The rules detail
how government departments should have an officer to peruse the records and
declassify them to be sent to the National Archives.
Sitting on
files the norm
The Ministry
of External Affairs started the process of systematically declassifying
documents a decade ago when it discovered it was running out of space to house
them. The Ministry of Defence has a history department, but periodic
declassification is not the norm here. Other departments of the government have
not done anything at all; research scholar and historian Srinath Raghavan says,
“there is no interest and this is not a priority”.
Periodically,
various government departments dump files in the National Archives, contrary to
the Public Record Rules which state that every department will have an officer
to examine the records and downgrade or declassify them as per rules specified
in the Departmental Security Instructions issued by the Ministry of Home
Affairs. The Home Ministry does not explain the criteria for files marked Top
Secret, Secret, Confidential and Restricted, according to the implications of
their disclosure for national security.
Documents
whose disclosure would have zero impact on the security of the country are
marked unclassified. But the process requires officials in government
departments to go through the files and send them to the National Archives
where the process of systematic cataloguing takes place. The Public Record
Rules not only have a proviso for a record-creating agency in government
departments but also authorise an officer not below the rank of an Under
Secretary to the Government of India to evaluate and downgrade the classified
records being maintained by them which are sent to the National Archives.
The unease
of access
What happens
to documents that are moved to the National Archives, mandated by law to
preserve them for posterity? Shortfall of staff, lack of systematic digital
cataloguing, a process that started a few years ago, prevent easy access even
to declassified files. Ever tried accessing maps at the National Archives?
There are a large number of maps declassified, catalogued and available for the
public, not to mention the load of classified maps hidden away from prying
eyes. While getting near an “unclassified” map is in itself a convoluted
process, for the common man to get a copy of most of them is next to
impossible. Having said that, some research scholars say there are several
papers related to the Emergency in National Archives that few people have
bothered looking into.
The United
Progressive Alliance government passed the RTI Act in 2005 to help citizens of
the country understand how government decisions are arrived at.
Quite so
often, to get information is a long haul as the government cites rules to seek
exemption from disclosures, citing threat to the security of the country. The
exercise of this right often puts it in conflict with existing Official Secrets
Act often cited as the reason against public disclosure even though the RTI Act
weighs in favour of public interest and says a public authority may allow
access to information if public interest in disclosure outweighs the harm to
the protected interests.
And for
making the Netaji files public, questions will be asked of the Prime Minister
as his party rushes to appropriate national figures from history for narrow
political gain. After all, West Bengal goes to the polls a few months from now
and from all indications, the Netaji saga will be a part of the electoral
narrative of political parties. Will it help the Bharatiya Janata Party?
Especially after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee beat Mr. Modi to
the game by declassifying a bunch of Netaji papers in Kolkata?
The family of
Lal Bahadur Shastri has been seeking documents related to his sudden death in
Tashkent. Such documents should automatically become the preserve of the
National Archives without the attendant drama. Now is a good time to debate the
criteria which enables the government to keep secrets instead of making
everything public.
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