The 8th batch of 25 declassified files relating to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose were released online on web portal www.netajipapers.gov.in. today by Shri N.K. Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Culture. The present batch of 25 files pertains to Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), inclusive years 1951-2006.
It may be recalled that first lot of 100 files relating to Netaji, after their preliminary conservation treatment and digitization, were put in the public domain by the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi on 23 January 2016, on the occasion of the 119th birth anniversary of Netaji. Subsequently, 175 files were released in 6 more batches between March and August, 2016. In all, 275 files belonging to the Prime Minister’s Office (58 files), Ministry of Home Affairs (37 files), Ministry of External Affairs (171 files) and the Cabinet Secretariat (9 files) have been put in the public domain in the portal www.netajipapers.gov.in.
The present release of 25 files will further meet the continued public demand to access these files and this will also facilitate scholars to carry out further research on the doyen of the freedom movement.
These files having passed the scrutiny of the specially constituted Committee having experts from the field of Archives which looks into the aspects such as:
- To ascertain the physical conditions of the files and carry out necessary repair and conservation wherever needed, through Conservation Unit.
- To verify the quality of digitization for enabling the digitized records to upload in the web portal ‘www.netajipapers.gov.in’.
- To check if there is any duplication in the files that are being released on the internet for use by the researchers and general public.
It may be reiterated that in 1997, the National Archives of India had received 990 declassified files pertaining to the Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) from the Ministry of Defence. Further, in 2012, 271 files/ items pertaining the Khosla Commission, and 759 files/ items of Justice Mukherjee Commission of Inquiry, in total 1030 files/ items were received from the Ministry of Home Affairs. All these files/ items are already open to the public under the Public Records Rules, 1997.
