Former Army General Manoj Mukund Naravane
NEW DELHI: Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s insistence on reading purported extracts from the yet-to-be published book of former Army General Manoj Mukund Naravane has shone the spotlight on the rules and regulations that restrict senior military officials from revealing classified information or crucial leadership decisions even after retirement.Senior military officials, particularly those dealing with classified information, are subject to regulations under the Official Secrets Act that restrict the publication of books or information even after retirement to prevent such classified material from becoming public.While a general one-year “cooling-off” period exists for taking up commercial or private employment, regulations for publishing secret content require prior govt clearance.”Four Stars of Destiny”, a memoir of Naravane, who was Army chief from Dec 31, 2019, to April 30, 2022, remains unpublished due to pending clearance from the defence ministry regarding sensitive details on the 2020 LAC standoff and Agnipath scheme.The book was slated to hit the stands in Jan 2024, but the Army and the defence ministry asked the publisher not to go ahead until they had reviewed its contents.There has been no official word from the publisher, author, or even the ministry on the status of the book. If the said rules and regulations are violated, govt can take legal action and such violations can also lead to the withholding of part or all of the pension of the military official concerned, as per CCS (Pension) Rules. There are chances that if the memoir is published, it could “flare up” the LAC situation with China.In May-June 2020, Indian and Chinese troops engaged in violent face-offs along the LAC in eastern Ladakh and Sikkim, most notably during the June 15, 2020, clash in Galwan Valley that resulted in the death of 20 Indian soldiers. There were casualties on the Chinese side as well. This marked the deadliest confrontation in decades, leading to major troop escalations.Under the then General Naravane’s command, India and China held a series of ground-level talks that led to “disengagement” in a phased manner from the stand-off areas. As of today, the situation along LAC is characterised by a “thaw” following a series of disengagement agreements, yet high-level military forward deployment from both sides persists.
