Fourth batch of Netaji files released online

One of the files from the PMO has some missing pages, which was noticed by an official in the Indira Gandhi regime, but no investigation was carried out.

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Friday’s list takes the total Bose files declassified to 200.

The fourth batch of 25 declassified files relating to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose were released online on Friday. The present batch consists of five files from the Prime Minister’s Office, four from the Home Ministry and 16 from the External Affairs Ministry, pertaining to the period between 1968 and 2008.

Interestingly, one of the files from the PMO has some missing pages, which was noticed by an official in the Indira Gandhi regime, but no investigation was carried out. Another PMO file cites a letter written by former PM Narasimha Rao to the then President R Venkataraman regarding the recommendation of honouring Bose with the Bharat Ratna, also clarifying about his name figuring in the UN’s record of war criminals. In this regard, a file from the External Affairs Ministry mentions that “Netaji was not a war criminal”.

The PMO had approved posthumous Bharat Ratna for Bose along with Maulana Abul Kalam Azad in 1992, but Netaji’s kin declined it saying, “Netaji was bigger than Bharat Ratna”. The honour then went to JRD Tata, who was earlier not considered fit for the award, as per another file. In 1991, Russi Mody — who was at the helm of Tata Group at the time — had also written to the PM, requesting him to consider his predecessor JRD Tata for Bharat Ratna, 35 years after he received the Padma Vibhushan.

Officials at the National Archives say this is the last batch of files released, while they have almost 100 more files from other sources, to be released in batches of 25 over the next four months. Friday’s list takes the total Bose files declassified to 200. Over 11 lakh people have accessed the Bose papers online so far on the portal netajipapers.gov.in. “As per the declassified files present in the NAI repository, it appears that Bose actually died in the plane crash. Among other evidence, there is also an eyewitness account of the lone survivor of that crash, Habibur Rahman,” says a senior NAI official.

Divya A

Divya A reports on travel, tourism, culture and social issues - not necessarily in that order - for The Indian Express. She's been a journalist for over a decade now, working with Khaleej Times and The Times of India, before settling down at Express. Besides writing/ editing news reports, she indulges her pen to write short stories. As Sanskriti Prabha Dutt Fellow for Excellence in Journalism, she is researching on the lives of the children of sex workers in India. ... Read More

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