As an acknowledgement of this problem perhaps, the Service headquarters have constituted the Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research (CAFHR), at the United Service Institute, and the Indian Army has constituted a Centre for Army Lessons Learnt (CALL) at Army Training Command (ARTRAC), Shimla. However, both institutions represent half-hearted, bureaucratic and unimaginative responses to the problem. Neither of these institutions has full access to the operational archives. Hence, the list of the projects undertaken by CAFHR reflects that either they are of a pre-Independence era or they relate to ceremonial matters. Further, they lack the funding and the capacity required to attract talented and ambitious scholars to undertake research projects. Finally, they suffer from the ‘judge, jury and executioner’ syndrome. Serving and retired officers are called upon to judge their seniors and, in effect, legitimise the myths created in their organisations.

On the 40th Foundation Day Lecture at the Institute of Defence and Security Analysis (IDSA) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh complained about the ‘dearth of long-term planning’ in Indian strategic circles. Long-term planning cannot happen without a proper understanding of the past. As long as the state denies access to the proper study of military history, it is perhaps disingenuous on the prime minister’s part to make this complaint. Let the generals have their stories, but in the interests of its future, it is the right of the Indian public to get the facts.

The writer is a PhD candidate at the School of Advanced International Studies at the Johns Hopkins University, Washington DC