India: Researcher denied access to CID records on VD Savarkar, despite CM Devendra Fadnavis's recommendation

25 April 2015 - 5:05am IST | Agency: dna | From the print edition

Even after getting written permission from Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, a researcher working on a book about VD Savarkar cannot get access to the special branch archives from the CID.

Even after getting written permission from Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, a researcher working on a book about VD Savarkar cannot get access to the special branch archives from the CID.

This comes as a disappointment for Shridhar Damle, the 72-year old researcher from Chicago, who, in an international search, has accessed three thousand documents on Savarkar which are in French language, 100 German-language documents and 18 pages in Russian. He has acquired 10,000 documents from British Archives and India House library in the UK.

Damle was taken to chief minister Fadnavis by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Madhav Bhandari, and Fadnavis immediately gave a favourable instruction in writing for Additional Chief Secretary (Home) on February 24, 2015. Despite this instruction, Damle is not being given access to the required documents, even when Fadnavis has mentioned in his note that these documents are not classified.

Damle told dna that it has been easier to access important documents abroad than in India. He said, "I am surprised by their reply that they can't allow me to scan these documents, since there is no mention of a hand-held scanner (which he will be using) in the Government Resolution (GR) of 1970." Damle pointed out that the small hand-held scanner was developed for the first time in 1990, and it could not possibly have found mention in the Maharashtra government's 1970 GR. He expressed surprise that this was the reason to forbid him to access the documents, which are not classified.

Damle said the archives of the CID's special branch include some 12,000 pages on Savarkar. These records date from 1906 to 1943. Damle said there was no file on Savarkar after 1943, and that he did not know the reason why.

He said that he is planning to write two books, one titled 'Savarkar International Case' and the other, 'Savarkar in Foreign Media'.

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-researcher-denied-access-to-cid-records-on-vd-savarkar-despite-cm-devendra-fadnavis-s-recommendation-2080454