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Henderson Brooks–Bhagat Report
The Henderson Brooks-Bhagat report, also referred to as the Henderson Brooks report, is the report of an analysis (Operations Review) of the Sino-Indian War of 1962. Its authors are officers of the Indian armed forces. They are Lieutenant-General T.B. Henderson Brooks and Brigadier Premindra Singh Bhagat, commandant of the Indian Military Academy at the time.
More than 50 years after its creation, the report remains classified by the Indian government.[1] In April 2010, India's Defence Minister A.K. Antony told Parliament that the report could not be declassified because its contents “are not only extremely sensitive but are of current operational value."[2] This statement has been criticised by opposition parties as an attempt to hide major policy failures made by the then-prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, in order to avoid hurting performance of his great-grandson, INC vice-president Rahul Gandhi, in the 2014 General Elections.
The report is said to be openly critical of the Indian political and military structure of the time, as well as of the execution of operations. According to Australian journalist Neville Maxwell, the report says that the Indian government which was keen to recover territory, advocated a cautious policy; whilst the Army Headquarters dictated a policy that was militarily unsound.[3]
On 17 March 2014, Neville Maxwell posted Volume 1 of the two-volume report on his website.[4] Maxwell had acquired a copy of the report and wrote his book India's China War based on it.[5] In an interview, Maxwell says he has never seen Volume 2, but understands it to be "mainly memos, written statements and other documents on which the authors based the report".[6]
More than 50 years after its creation, the report remains classified by the Indian government.[1] In April 2010, India's Defence Minister A.K. Antony told Parliament that the report could not be declassified because its contents “are not only extremely sensitive but are of current operational value."[2] This statement has been criticised by opposition parties as an attempt to hide major policy failures made by the then-prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, in order to avoid hurting performance of his great-grandson, INC vice-president Rahul Gandhi, in the 2014 General Elections.
The report is said to be openly critical of the Indian political and military structure of the time, as well as of the execution of operations. According to Australian journalist Neville Maxwell, the report says that the Indian government which was keen to recover territory, advocated a cautious policy; whilst the Army Headquarters dictated a policy that was militarily unsound.[3]
On 17 March 2014, Neville Maxwell posted Volume 1 of the two-volume report on his website.[4] Maxwell had acquired a copy of the report and wrote his book India's China War based on it.[5] In an interview, Maxwell says he has never seen Volume 2, but understands it to be "mainly memos, written statements and other documents on which the authors based the report".[6]
References
- Declassification law on official documents needs review, says committee Murali Krishnan, Nerve News, [1]
- The ghost of 1962, by Venkatesan Vembu, Daily News & Analysis, 2 May 2010, [2]
- "Henderson-Brooks report hold Bureaucracy for defeat in 1962 China War". IANS. news.biharprabha.com. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- Unnithan, Sandeep (18 March 2014). "Henderson Brooks report lists the guilty men of 1962". India Today. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
- Pandalai, Shruti (2 April 2014). "Burying Open Secrets: India's 1962 War and the Henderson-Brooks Report". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
- Debasish Roy Chowdhury (2014-03-31). "Neville Maxwell interview: the full transcript". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
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