PMO clears 33 files concerning Netaji

The Prime Minister's Office on Friday cleared 33 files concerning Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, which were handed over to the National Archives of India for further processing, preservation and digitisation.

Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Nripendra Mishra handed over the first set of files related to Netaji to the Director General, National Archives of India, setting the stage for their declassification beginning on January23.

"Today an important milestone has been reached in the process to declassify the Netaji files," tweeted the PMO.

The Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of External Affairs are separately taking action for release of files under their possession.

On October14, during a meeting with Netaji's kin at his official residence here, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured them that the declassification and public release of the files would begin on January23, on the birth anniversary of Netaji.

Emphasising that history cannot be created by those who forget their own history, the Prime Minister had categorically stated that his government did not believe in constraining or strangulating history in any way, and was committed to opening up information on Netaji to the people of India.

"This marks a key milestone in fulfilling the long standing demand of the people of India for declassification of files related to Netaji," PMO said in another tweet.