Centre releases fourth batch of 25 declassified files on Netaji

New Delhi: The fourth batch of 25 declassified files relating to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose released online on web portal www.netajipapers.gov.in by Ministry of Culture Secretary N.K. Sinha here today. The present batch of 25 files consists of five files from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), 4 files from Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), and 16 files from Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)pertaining to the period 1968 to 2008. It may be recalled that the first lot of 100 files relating to Netaji, after their preliminary conservation treatment and digitization, were put in the public domain by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 23, on the occasion of the 119th birth anniversary of Netaji. The second lot of 50 files and third lot of 25 files were released by Minister of State for Culture and Tourism and Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma, on March 29 and April 29 respectively. 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 many files having passed the scrutiny of the specially constituted Committee having experts from the field of Archives looks into various aspects such as to ascertain the physical conditions of the files and carry out necessary repair and conservation wherever needed, through Conservation Unit. It also looks to verify the quality of digitization for enabling the digitized records to upload in the web portal 'www.netajipapers.gov.in'. The committee also looks to check if there are any duplication in the files 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.