Soon-to-be released files will end speculation
The Narendra Modi Government's decision to declassify files related to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose is great news not just for the freedom-fighter's family but for the nation too. Prime Minister Modi made the commitment when a delegation comprising Netaji's extended family and a few others met him at his official residence earlier this week. The Prime Minister's assurance that the declassification of the files will begin on January 23, 2016 — Netaji Bose's birth anniversary — sets to rest speculation on the Union Government's intent. It is pure politics to debate if the Centre's hands were forced after the West Bengal Government threw open to the public secret files relating to Netaji with the administration or that the Modi regime has taken the decision to buttress its own stature. Whatever may the reasons have been, the fact is that the country will finally get to know the true story of Netaji Bose's contribution to the freedom movement, his mysterious disappearance, his supposed death in an air crash in 1945 and the role of senior Congress leaders in allegedly suppressing material and spying on his family members. While Prime Minister Modi's decision has been widely praised, there is one particular party which appears rattled by the development: The Congress. It has not welcomed the move, although it has stopped short of criticising the decision unequivocally. One wonders what is troubling the Congress's leaders. The party had been in power for the longest period of time since 1947, and never thought it appropriate to declassify the files. Are the leaders worried that the material which will spill out post-January 23 can damage the reputation of those who have been their icons for decadesIJ Their oft-held argument that the declassification of Netaji files can harm India's relations with friendly countries, does not hold water. Julian Assange's series of exposé through Wikileaks was of a more contemporary nature. But that did not impact ties between countries mentioned in the slew of documents made public, and ended up creating only a mild stir. The world of today is not the world of 1945 or before. If the Congress had been using ‘international relations' as a fig leaf to hide behind, then it stands to reason that it had other, more devious compulsions.
There is talk that once the information begins to pour out in the public domain, there may be a necessity to not just ‘officially' recast Netaji's stature but also drastically re-write history books that are being taught in schools and universities, and written by Nehruvian-oriented academics. There is bound to be a furore in such an eventuality. We don't know yet what the secret papers hold, and so it would be premature to jump to conclusions. But what we can safely assume is that the declassification will lead to considerable political and academic churning. However, the picture will only be complete once India gets countries such as Russia to also declassify material they possess on Netaji Bose. Mr Modi's promise to take the matter up with Russian President Vladimir Putin is a step in the right direction. Meanwhile, now that the Prime Minister has rightly remarked that “there is no need to strangle history”, he must also move to declassify the Henderson Brooks-Bhagat report on the India-China war of 1962.