In what could cause more problems to the beleaguered UPA, parts of a top secret report on India’s 1962 war against China have been uploaded on his blog by Australian journalist Neville Maxwell, who was the then Delhi correspondent of The Times of London.
Within hours of the report being uploaded, the government moved to block Maxwell’s blog to deny access to it. Unfortunately for the government, part-I of the ‘Lt Gen Henderson Brooks-Brig P S Bhagat Report’ marked ‘Top Secret’, was downloaded several times and passed on through the social media before the government could block it. The blocking of the blog led to outrage in the online community. Commenting on the development, the Defence Ministry said it had come across media reports of Maxwell putting out sections of the Henderson Brooks report.
“Given the extremely sensitive nature of the report, which is of current operational value, it is reiterated that the government of India has classified this report as a top secret document and, as such, it would not be appropriate to comment on the contents uploaded by Neville Maxwell on the web,” said Defence Ministry spokesperson Sitanshu Kar.
The Henderson Brooks report, which was used by Maxwell to publish a controversial book ‘India’s China War’ in 1970, was critical of then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s ‘Forward Policy’ and the then army leadership for India’s humiliating loss in the war.
Even 52 years after the defeat in the war, the government has kept the report under wraps. Defence Minister A K Antony had in April 2010 told Parliament that “based on an internal study by the Army, the contents (of the report) are not only extremely sensitive but are of current operational value”.
Maxwell, who had reported on the war extensively, said in his site that he had for long assumed that India would release the report after a decent interval, given that he had published parts of it in his book in 1970.
Meanwhile, war of words broke out between the BJP and Congress over classified 1962 war report.
India's long Delay Pushed Maxwell to release Report
Maxwell, who had reported on the war, said that he had for long assumed that India would release the Henderson Brooks report after a decent interval, given that he had published parts of it in his book in 1970. Read More Here
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