E-Paper
Priyanka Chaturvedi asks Centre to declassify records of historical importance
Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi wrote to the Union culture ministry said failure to update such data will lead to the tendency to use an ‘imagined past’, which she described as ‘disastrous’
Shiv Sena member of Parliament (MP) Priyanka Chaturvedi on Monday wrote to the Union culture ministry seeking to declassify information of historical importance saying that failure to update such data will lead to the tendency to use an ‘imagined past’, which she described as ‘disastrous’.
The MP said her letter, addressing Union culture and tourism minister G Kishan Reddy, was in reference to a recent observation made by director-general of the National Archives of India (NAI) wherein it was said that no records of the wars of 1962, 1965, 1971 as well as Green Revolution are maintained with the NAI.
“This highlights the need for enhancing transparency and accessibility of records to the general public, academicians, and researchers by declassifying information of historical importance under the Public Records Act, 1993 and liberal application of the colonial legislations such as Official Secrets Act, 1923,” the MP said.
Chaturvedi while hailing the defence ministry’s decision to declassify important war records older than 25 years suggested, “The Committee formed for the review and study of such documents may be kept free of bureaucratic control depending on the sensitivity of the subject matter concerned.”
As per the Public Records Act, 1993, various central ministries and departments are supposed to transfer records more than 25 years old to the NAI, unless they pertain to classified information. However, it is up to the respective ministries and departments to ascertain what is classified information.
NAI director general Chandan Sinha on December 25 said that the agency does not have records of 1962, 1965, and 1971 wars and the green revolution as a number of Union ministries and departments have not shared their records with it.
Underlining that records management in government is an essential aspect of good governance, Sinha said there are several ministries that have not shared their records with the NAI since independence and that the NAI has only records of 64 agencies, including 36 ministries and departments.
The National Archives of India is the custodian of the records of enduring value of the Government of India. Established on March 11, 1891 at Calcutta (Kolkata) as the Imperial Record Department, it is the biggest archival repository in South Asia.
