Declassifying India’s War Records Will Pave Way for More Objective Assessment of Military History
3 years, 9 months ago

Declassifying India’s War Records Will Pave Way for More Objective Assessment of Military History

News 18  

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s announcement that war records will be archived and declassified after every 25 years is, indeed, a welcome move. Declassification will enable a more objective assessment of post-Independence India’s military history, helping policymakers make more informed decisions on policies relating to the country’s military security. Interviews by scholars of retired military officials or key bureaucratic officials can only partially redress our gaps in understanding why higher defence remains impaired, despite the Modi government’s decision to establish the Chief of Defence Staff post. Indeed, declassification will enable scholarly study on higher defence organisation, defence procurement, military intelligence studies, recruitment standards and priorities of the armed services, military personnel issues, training and so on. There are a whole range of notable historians without any military backgrounds outside India who have made significant contributions to military history such as John Keegan, Lawrence Freedman and Richard Overy, to name a few; and there is no reason why Indians cannot emulate them.

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History of this topic

‘The Indian and Pakistani armies were born out of the same womb,’ says Probal DasGupta
1 year, 1 month ago

‘The Indian and Pakistani armies were born out of the same womb,’ says Probal DasGupta

The Hindu  

In Camouflaged — Forgotten Stories from Battlefields, Probal DasGupta looks at India’s history from the lens of war stories. I felt India’s history needs to be told from the lens of war stories, since they help contextualise our history. My previous book Watershed 1967 was the first book about India’s victory over China in 1967 — it took us 53 …

Rajnath Singh Approves Policy on Archiving, Declassification of War Histories
3 years, 9 months ago

Rajnath Singh Approves Policy on Archiving, Declassification of War Histories

News 18  

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. "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. In a significant decision, the MoD issued …

Defence Ministry may declassify war-related papers after 25 years
3 years, 9 months ago

Defence Ministry may declassify war-related papers after 25 years

Live Mint  

NEW DELHI: India may declassify certain papers related to past military operations and wars, sooner than the 25-year cut-off period, under a new policy announced by the defence ministry on Saturday. While the new policy is for internal use, one of the people cited above said that certain aspects of past operations and wars could be made public sooner, if …

Rajnath Singh approves new policy for declassification of war history
3 years, 9 months ago

Rajnath Singh approves new policy for declassification of war history

The Hindu  

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday approved a policy on archiving, declassification, compilation and publication of war and operations histories by the Ministry of Defence. “The policy mandates constitution of a committee headed by Joint Secretary, MoD and comprising of representatives of the Services, Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs and other organisations and prominent military historians, if …

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approves policy on declassification of war operations
3 years, 9 months ago

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approves policy on declassification of war operations

India Today  

Finer details of war operations, that might have only been passed on through word of mouth till now, will soon be made public and archived as Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has given approval to a policy on declassification of military history. According to the policy, each organisation under the Ministry of Defence will transfer records, including war diaries, letters of …

India needs formal war history: Arun Jaitley
10 years, 1 month ago

India needs formal war history: Arun Jaitley

India TV News  

New Delhi: Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley Monday said India must have a formal war history which every child should read. "I suggested the defence ministry and I am told they are moving fast on India's war history.," he said. "India is one of few countries which don't have a formal documentation of our war history," said Jaitley, who …

Military needs and societal values
10 years, 4 months ago

Military needs and societal values

The Hindu  

It is a grim irony. Although Nehru talked Thimayya out of the resignation, he emphasised in Parliament that “civil authority is and must remain supreme.” The 1962 war and after The defeat against China weakened Nehru’s position vis-à-vis the Army. Democratic control over the military weakened in Nehru’s own lifetime in other ways too. In 1956, as the Army was …

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