Congress MPs demanded Kaul’s arrest and his book checked for classified info.
A political storm erupted in Parliament this week after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi sought to quote from a book by former Army Chief General MM Naravane that is yet to be published, triggering protests from the Treasury benches and forcing repeated adjournments of the House. While the incident has reignited debate over propriety and privilege, it is not without precedent.
Nearly 60 years ago, a similar incident took place when a book written by a retired general caused an uproar so intense that members of the ruling Congress demanded his arrest, shaking the foundations of the government led by then-Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
The book in question was The Untold Story, authored by Lieutenant General BM Kaul (Retd), who had served as the General Officer Commanding of the Indian Army’s IV Corps during the 1962 India-China war. Kaul’s corps suffered a major defeat during the conflict, following which he resigned from the Army, said a News18 Hindi report. In March 1967, he published his account of the war in the book.
Rajya Sabha records show that Congress MPs raised sharp questions over the publication of the book, demanding to know whether Kaul had sought prior permission from the government or submitted his manuscript for official scrutiny before publication. Then Defence Minister Swaran Singh informed the House that Kaul had neither sought permission nor shared the manuscript with the government.
Several Congress MPs demanded punitive action, with some even calling for Kaul’s arrest. Members sought clarification on whether defence personnel, serving or retired, were free to use information acquired during service in their writings. Singh responded that while serving officers were required to obtain permission, retired personnel were not, though they remained bound by the Official Secrets Act. Any violation of the law, he said, would invite action.
According to reports published at the time by The Indian Express, Congress MP Rajendra Pratap Sinha asked what steps the government was taking to prevent retired generals from using sensitive or secret information acquired during service in public writings. Singh replied that the government was examining the book to determine whether it contained classified material that could attract provisions of the Official Secrets Act.
Congress MP Loknath Mishra went on to describe Kaul as an “enemy informant”, questioning why he had not been detained despite allegedly exposing the functioning and shortcomings of the Defence Ministry. Another MP, G Murahari, reportedly labelled Kaul a “double agent”.
The Defence Minister assured Parliament that the book was under careful examination and that appropriate action would be taken if violations were established.
Much like Rahul Gandhi’s attempt today to question the Modi government’s policies by citing General Naravane’s forthcoming book, Kaul’s memoir in 1967 became a prism through which opposition, and even ruling party MPs, scrutinised the roles of Jawaharlal Nehru and then Defence Minister VK Krishna Menon in the 1962 debacle.
MPs at the time also demanded that the government make public the Henderson Brooks Committee Report, commissioned to examine the failures of the 1962 war, arguing that Kaul’s allegations warranted transparency. That report, notably, remains classified even today.
