2 new volumes of controversial 'Towards Freedom' project revived

New Delhi, Mar 13: Two more volumes of the controversial project of the Indian Council of Historical Research 'Towards Freedom' will soon be ready for publication, the Lok Sabha was informed today.

The project has been revived on the recommendations of a committee that inquired into the matter of missing files relating to the project, Minister of State for Human Resource Development D Purandeswari in a written reply.

She said the committee found that unless ''important files were retrieved, much of the material relating to the non-publication/stoppage of Towards Freedom project would never be unearthed.

The inquiry committee, headed by D Bandyopadhyay, has recommended that the project be completed within 24 months and it has also advised wide ranging changes in the editorial board, said the Minister.

She said already two volumes had been made ready for publication and work on finalisation of the manuscript of two more volumes has been initiated.

Crucial files on the ICHR's ambitious but controversy-ridden documentation project on the last decade of India's freedom struggle had gone missing after these were sent to the then Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi about six years ago.

The files contain vital information about the project and its administrative aspects.

This was for the first time that the HRD ministry sought files from the ICHR, which is an autonomous body.

The files were sent to the ministry on the directive of Dr Joshi, but these were never returned to the Council despite repeated reminders.

UNI