Rajnath approves policy on archiving, declassification of war histories

TIL Desk/National/New Delhi/ Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday approved the policy on archiving, declassification and compilation of histories of wars and operations by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). “Timely publication of war histories would give people accurate account of the events, provide authentic material for academic research and counter the unfounded rumours,” the MoD’s statement noted.

According to the policy, each organisation under the MoD such as tri-services, Integrated Defence Staff, Assam Rifles and Indian Coast Guard, will transfer the records, including war diaries, letters of proceedings and operational record books, to the History Division of MoD for proper upkeep, archival and writing of histories.

“The responsibility for declassification of records rests with the respective organisations as specified in the Public Record Act 1993 and the Public Record Rules 1997,” the MoD’s statement noted. According to the policy, records should ordinarily be declassified in 25 years. “Records older than 25 years should be appraised by archival experts and transferred to the National Archives of India once the war/operations histories have been compiled,” it stated.