MoD censors Armed Forces journal

The Ministry of Defence is known to be obsessed with secrecy, but in a unique case it has now moved on to censor one of its own journals.

The Ministry of Defence MoD is known to be obsessed with secrecy, but in a unique case it has now moved on to censor one of its own journals. The charge against Sainik Samachar, known as the mouthpiece of the Armed Forces, is that it is disclosing classified information about Army units and appointments.

The blow comes even as the magazine, published by the Department of Public Relations, enters its centenary year.

Sources confirmed that for the first time in its century-long run, the magazine would be vetted by the Directorate General of Military Intelligence DGMI before going to print.

The bi-monthly magazine, published in several languages and subscribed by all embassies in the capital amongst others, usually carries stories on official visits of senior armed forces officers and MoD functionaries. It also carries snippets about functions at various armed forces units across the country 8212; most of which are also released as press statements.

The move to censor the journal comes after the Army raised objections that it is publishing 8220;classified information8221; about names of Army units, appointments of officers and defence functions. While no complaints were received from the Navy or the Air Force, the Army raised concerns about certain articles published in the journal. This came as a surprise, as all contributions to the magazine are made by serving officers of the Armed Forces, making it simpler to clear all articles at source by respective units.

Sources confirmed that the new order to get compulsory clearance from DGMI would come into effect from next month itself. A note to this effect has already been circulated in the ministry.

The journal was started in 1909 by the armed forces and was first published in Urdu as Fauji Akhbar. It remained the main propaganda magazine of the Royal Indian Army during the course of the two world wars and its circulation peaked to 2.5 lakh copies during the Second World War.