Controversy over Gen Naravane’s memoir: Govt mulls 20-year cooling-off period for senior officials’ books

New Delhi, Feb 14: The Naravane memoir controversy has prompted the Union government to consider introducing a 20 year cooling off period before senior officials, including top military officers, can publish books after retirement.

According to a media report, the proposed rule could be announced shortly. The move follows political uproar over former Army Chief General M M Naravane’s yet to be published memoir, Four Stars of Destiny, which sparked heated debate in Parliament.

The issue escalated after Congress MP Rahul Gandhi cited portions of the unpublished book in the Lok Sabha, referring to excerpts that reportedly dealt with the 2020 India-China military standoff in eastern Ladakh. The sensitive nature of the subject led to objections from Union ministers, including Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, who intervened to prevent further reading of the passages.

The Congress leader later claimed that copies of the book were available abroad and displayed a hard copy within the Parliament complex. However, publisher Penguin Random House India clarified that the book remains unpublished, pending final clearance from the Ministry of Defence.

In a statement, the publisher warned that any unauthorised circulation whether in print, digital or other formats would amount to copyright infringement and would invite legal action.

The matter was also discussed at a recent Union Cabinet meeting, where several ministers reportedly backed the idea of imposing a mandatory waiting period for retired officials who have held sensitive positions before they release books or memoirs.

The proposed measure, if implemented, is expected to reshape norms governing post-retirement publications by former senior functionaries, particularly those with access to classified or strategic information.