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ORGANISATIONAL HISTORY OF THE HISTORY DIVISION, MoD
1. History Division, Ministry of Defence is an Inter-Services organisation set up in 1953, to function as record, research and reference office of the MoD, the three Services HQs. In addition to the administrative works, it is entrusted with the responsibilities of maintaining historical records pertaining to the Indian armed forces and undertaking research in military history and military heraldry. In addition, it attends all queries relating to the defence matter from the MoD, armed forces, HQs, Coast Guard HQs and research scholars. The Division advises the MoD and the three Services HQs in all the matters related to heraldry i.e. naming of establishments and ships, preparation of crests and formation signs, and badges, coining of mottoes, etc. Division also maintains a library housing more than 8000 unique books on military history. The Division has published 46 volumes so far. The Division also runs a Fellowship scheme to encourage research in military history. The History Division works under Joint Secretary (Medical & History) in the Ministry of Defence.
2. The charter of duties of the Division includes the following:-
i. To serve as the research, record and reference office to the Indian Armed Forces. It preserves and maintains war diaries/operational records and other military documents received from various formations and units of the Indian Armed Forces. These documents are eventually used for writing the official histories of operations conducted by the Indian Armed Forces and for answering queries pertaining to military history received from the three Services, Ministry of Defence, other Departments/Offices, research scholars, etc.
ii. To write histories of the wars fought by the Indian Armed Forces. These include the Peace-keeping Operations conducted by the Indian Armed Forces in various countries from time to time.
iii. To guide and assist the Army Regiments and Air Force Squadrons in compiling the histories & vet their histories before publication.
iv. To assist the Ministry of Defence and the three Services Headquarters with military historical data.
v. To assist the Services Headquarters in the battle honours works.
vi. To advise the three Services, Coast Guard Headquarters and the Ministry of Defence in all matters relating to military heraldry, such as naming of new establishments and acquisitions, designing of crests and badges and coining of mottoes.
vii. The Departmental Library houses more than eight thousand titles, including books, periodicals and foreign publications of military importance.
viii. To vet the scripts of feature films related to wars/operations conducted by the Indian Armed Forces. These scripts are received through agencies like Military Intelligence, MoD, Film Censor Board, etc.
ix. To facilitate the assistance of Air HQs to the Film Production Houses engaged in making movies, documentaries, serials, etc., on matters related to IAF, and also seeking clearance of the Ministry for the release.
x. Assisting the regiments and formations in planning and setting up memorials and museums.
xi. Monitor declassification of classified records by Records Creating Agencies from time to time in tune with Public Records Act 1993, Public Records Rules 1997 and GoI Policy on Archiving, Declassification and Compilation/Publication of War Histories, 2021.
xii. Getting the declassified records appraised for transfer to National Archives of India
xiii. Award fellowships to promote research in Indian military history.
xiv. Deals with RTIs related to Indian Armed Forces.
xv. Deals with Parliamentary questions related to Indian Armed Forces.
xvi. Deals with court cases.
3. For further information regarding the History Division, Dr. Amlesh Kumar Mishra, Director may kindly be contacted. Address:- History Division, Ministry of Defence, West Block-8, Wing-1, RK Puram, New Delhi-110066. Ph./Fax 011-26102067, E-mail ID:- histdiv-mod@nic.in.
5. Who's Who
6. List of Publications, History Division, MoD
7. Format - Request for consulting records
8. Policy on Archiving, Declassification and compilation of war/Operations Histories-reg.
Category of Documents held
| Category of Documents | Custodian |
|---|---|
| Top Secret | Director, History Division |
| Secret | Deputy Director, History Division |
| Confidential/Restricted | Assistant Director, History Division |
| Unclassified | Dealing Clerk/Officer |
| The records include war diaries, Historical reports, ORB, Army lists, Army Orders etc. |
9.Designation & Pay Level
| Designation | Pay Level |
|---|---|
| Director | Level 12 |
| Dy Director | Level 11 |
| Assistant Director | Level 8 |
| ASO/RA | Level 7 |
| SSA | Level 4 |
| JSA | Level 2 |
| MTS | Level 1 |
10.
Details of RTI Purpose
|
Name of Nodal Officer & Public Authority |
Dr. Amlesh Kr. Mishra Director, History Division |
| Name of CPIO |
Dr. Narender Yadav Deputy Director, History Division |
| Appellate Authority |
Dr. Amlesh Kr. Mishra Director, History Division |
11.Receipt & Disposal of RTI applications
| No of RTI applications received in the last financial year as on 31 Mar 2023 | 48 |
| No of RTI applications disposed | 48 |
| Details of appeals received and orders issued | 07/07 |
12.
| No of Parliament Question asked | 0 |
| No of Parliament Question replied | 0 |
As per Section 4(1) b (II) of RTI Act
1. Power and duties of its Officers and employees
| S.N | Officer/Staff | Power/duties |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Director, History Division | Director is the administrative head of the Division and is responsible for overall functioning of the Division. Director is empowered to sanction Rs 1 Lakh towards purchase of books/journals, binding of books etc with financial concurrence of IFD. He also works as the Nodal Officer and Appellate Authority for RTI for the division. |
| Dy Director,History Division | Dy Director performs the duties of CPIO & Branch Security Officer. He looks after conducting research in military history, vetting of regimental histories and script of films/documentaries, custody and management of classified and unclassified operational records, matters related to RTI & Parliament Questions and administration duties pertaining to History Division. | |
| Assistant Director, History Division | Assistant Director looks after conducting research in military history/heraldry, collection of records & preparation of notes on various aspects of military history, custody and maintenance of operational records, Library besides supervising the tasks and staff of their respective sections. | |
| Other Staff | To look after the tasks assigned to their seat/table i.e (a) General Administration (b) Research work (c) Records management (d) Digitization of records | |
| 2 | Rules/orders under which powers and duty are derived and | Being a central government organization under Ministry of Defence, the rules/orders applicable to central government organizations/Ministry of Defence are applicable to the History Division and it functions according to them. |
| 3 | Exercised | |
| 4 | Work allocation | Please refer the organogram. |
As per Section 4(1) b (III) of RTI Act
2. Procedure followed in decision making process
| S.N | Point/Subject | Description/ Information |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Process of decision making identify key decision making points | Decisions are taken by the Director as per instructions received from Ministry of Defence/GoI, in consultation with Deputy Directors and Assistant Directors keeping in view the relevant/extant rules/regulations on the subject. |
| 2 | Final Decision making authority | Depends on case to case basis (Director/MoD). |
| 3 | Related provisions, acts, rules etc | Central Govt rules and regulations. |
| 4 | Time limit for taking a decisions, if any | Depends on case to case basis. |
| 5 | Channel of supervision and accountability | Assistant Director ------->Deputy Director -------->Director ------>MoD |
As per Section 4(1) b (v) of RTI Act
3. Rules, regulations, instruction manual and records for discharging functions
| S.N | Point/Subject | Description/ Information |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Title and nature of the record/manual/instruction | Policy on procedure for archiving, declassification and compilation/publication of war /operation histories (policy available on MoD website). |
| 2 | List of rules, regulations, instructions manuals and records | |
| 3 | Acts/Rules manuals etc | Acts/rules applicable to Central Govt offices, Ministry of Defence, Govt of India |
| 4 | Transfer policy and transfer orders | As per O/o JS & CAO, transfer policy (please refer www.caomod.nic.in for the same). |
As per F.No. 1/6/2011-IR dt 15 Apr 2013
4. Language in which Information Manual /Handbook Available
| S.N | Point/Subject | Description/ Information |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | YES |
| 2 | Vernacular/Local Language | NO |
| 3 |
When was the information Manual/Handbook last updated? Last date of Annual updation |
June 2021 |
As per Section 4(1) b (vii) of RTI Act
7. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
(a) History Division functions under which ministry/Department ?
History Division is an Inter Service Organisation under Ministry of Defence, Govt of India.
(b) How can I contact History Division, MoD ?
History Division can be contacted through the telephone numbers/email ids mentioned in its website.
(c) How to consult the records held at History division?
One can visit the History Division on any working day between 0900 hrs to 1730 hrs to consult declassified records available with the Division.
(d) Can a person/research scholars visit the library of the History Division?
Any person/research scholars can visit the library of the History Division on any working day between 0900 hrs to 1730 hrs.
(e) Is any research fellowship is offered by the Division?
The History Division offers 02 research fellowships to promote research in Indian Military History for a period of two years to carry out research in Military History.
(f) What is the eligibility for the research fellowship?
The candidate must have done Masters in History/Military studies from any UGC recognized university, and shall have registered in M.Phil/Ph.D programme of a recognized university.
(g) What are the publication of History Division?
The Division has published 46 books on various war/operations, winners of gallantry awards and peacekeeping missions, etc related to Indian Armed Forces. The list of books is available on the MoD website.