‘Top secret’ files from British era, freedom struggle found hidden at CSMT

Among the non-confidential files was one with a handwritten cursive noting by the chief engineer’s office dated 1931 that said ‘File Closed’. Its subject line was ‘Guarding of (rail) line by the Police’. Another one was dated August 21, 1931 in Bombay district

MUMBAI: Central Railway (CR) officials last week stumbled upon 12 to 15 ‘secret’ files in a room at the CSMT headquarters. Dating back to the late 1920s and early 1930s, the files were in a surprisingly intact condition, without any damage done by termites or other elements.

‘Top secret’ files from British era, freedom struggle found hidden at CSMT

According to the officials, the files were found scattered in a room on the ground floor of the heritage building, which was near the recently restored 19th-century basement vault beneath the CSMT headquarters. The vault was apparently built to securely store daily cash collections overnight, which were brought in from various ticket counters across the railway network.

Many of the files seen by HT were made of hard cardboard, with GIPR (Great Indian Peninsula Railway) written on them. Sources said that most, marked ‘Confidential’ or ‘Top Secret’, were from the security, traffic, construction and engineering departments, and back in the British era, came under the Official Secrets Act of 1923. “They are about providing police protection, sending railway staff and workers to assist the army, internal conflicts, political rebellions, and the Indian freedom struggle,” said an official. “These also contain information about the general administration, rail strike, and movement of the army during war.”

Among the non-confidential files was one with a handwritten cursive noting by the chief engineer’s office dated 1931 that said ‘File Closed’. Its subject line was ‘Guarding of (rail) line by the Police’. Another one was dated August 21, 1931 in Bombay district. Addressed to the District Superintendent of Police, Kolaba, it mentions a letter dated August 19, 1931 written by the Chief Engineer of GIPR: “I have forwarded the letter... As mileage measurements fall under the jurisdiction of that officer,” says the letter signed by ‘Ag Chief Transportation Superintendent. A page with ‘Confidential’ written on it was stuck to this page.

“The files were intact,” said a CR official. “The pages have turned brown but the ink on them is still legible and has been found to be resistant to fading. We are handling these files, most of which have ‘Top Secret’ or ‘Confidential’ written on them, very carefully.” Cautious as ever, the government employees are uncertain whether these still come under the Official Secrets Act and have no clarity on whether they should be made public.

The non-sensitive files, however, will be kept on display at the heritage museum at CSMT, confirmed officials. The museum has old restored tickets and fare charts, train timetables, and vintage photographs of railway lines, trains and railway stations. The railways have already restored large metal bells, tracks, a miniature steam engine, tokens used by the then rail staff, rail maps of GIPR; they have also documented the history of Indian Railways, including the first train that ran on Bori Bunder (now CSMT) to Thane corridor on April 16, 1853.

The restoration of the offices inside the heritage building has been underway in phases for the past eight to ten months. A part of the railway staff shifted last week into the refurbished office space at the heritage building, which is part of the ₹2,400-crore CSMT Redevelopment Project.