A.S. Daulat, India’s former director general of the Research and Intelligence Wing (RAW), addressing an audience at the London School of Economics accused the Indian government of creating a ‘mess’ in Kashmir during the past 15 months, and called for ‘imagination’ and dialogue. ‘Heavy handedness has never worked in Kashmir…actually it doesn’t work anywhere as we’ve seen recently in Spain.’ Taking flight, he continued: ‘I think if there is one message that comes out of Kashmir, not today, not yesterday but as far back as one can remember… you can achieve a lot through love and compassion but you can never achieve it through force. That is the mistake we have created in the past 15 months….we need to deal with Kashmir in a civilized manner.’
There was little sign of a ‘civilized manner’ from his fellow guest speaker Ehsan-ul-Haq, the former Director General of Pakistan’s Inter Services directorate, who laid into India from the standard Islamabad script.
Mr Dulat’s pietas makes one wonder how he chose his profession. If the charge of creating a ‘mess’ in Kashmir is to be made with any justice, it is he and others like him, who should be held to account, for creating the ‘mess,’ in the first place, leaving it to the present government to start clearing it up.
If one goes by recent revelations that have come light involving inducements of cash to leaders of the separatist Hurriyat, the enormity of the ineptitude of Mr Daulat and his regime is quite staggering. Money – stacks and stacks – simply flowed into Hurriyat pockets from diverse sources – some through the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, and cash routed through the Middle East and elsewhere. The Indian establishment was privy to these transactions, piously hopeful that the scale of the bribery would win over their Hurriyat interlocutors.
When the present Government realized that there was no endgame to karmic cycle of blackmail and violence, of bluster and intimidation, they started calibrating a response fit for purpose.
Indian Intelligence uncovered documents relating to swanky properties accumulated by Hurriyat leaders; also protection money and rent from Srinagar traders and shopkeepers. The clampdown that followed emboldened the ordinary Kashmiri to come forward with crucial information that has been of considerable importance to the security forces against jihadi terrorism and its extensive networks from Pakistan.
The lotus-eyed Mr Dulat, it would appear, is oblivious of the linkages between the Mumbai bomb blasts in November 2008 and those prior to these in March 1993. In 1993, and jihadi operatives targeting the Hindu Pandits for ethnic cleansing from the valley, a community whose ancestral claims in the valley were (and are) as legitimate as those of their Muslim peers. Islamism’s messianic dream transcends Kashmir and includes the entire subcontinent. In a word, it was to set up a new regional caliphate.
Mr Daulat’s powers of recall are clearly seriously impaired, otherwise he might have cogitated the horrors inflicted on Bengali-speaking masses of East Bengal (now Bangladesh), where, among other things, the Pakistan Army set up enclosed camps for the systematic rape of Bengali peasant women to facilitate the creation of a new Muslim population free of Hindu cultural genes. He should read the speeches of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto calling for a jihad against India and demolishing it. A perusal of Stanley Wolpert’s biography contains damning evidence from the Bhutto archive. Mr Daulat’s dismal lack of reading shows up.
History demonstrates that ethical conduct in political disputes can pay dividends, but only when the contending parties play by similar rules. This did not apply to Hitler’s monstrous Nazi regime and the infamous Holocaust where six million unresisting Jews were consigned to gas chambers and died horribly. Mr Dulat is best advised to take an elementary course in history. He and his ilk were part of the Kashmir problem; they were never part of the solution. Nor, hopefully, will they ever be.
India-Bangladesh: Crafting a regional vision
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is on a crucial visit to Bangladesh. This comes in the wake of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s presence in Dhaka for talks on closer economic ties between India and its neighbour to the east, following which, Mr Jaitley finalized a line of credit of $4.5 billion to Bangladesh.
Sushma Swaraj hopes to take Indo-Bangladesh relations (already good) to the next level. Her talks in Dhaka are expected to cover the estimated 1.2 million Rohingya exodus from Myanmar into Bangladesh; explore ways by which India can further aid the rehabilitation efforts. India has kept its lines open to the Myanmar government, with a view to facilitate the return of the refugees to the country. That will be an arduous undertaking but a start has to be made at some point.
The open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Congress leaders P. Chidambaram, Shashi Tharoor, and human rights activists, to accommodate 70,000 Rohingyas, on the face of it looks like a publicity stunt. The Government of India’s decision to refuse them entry has been made in close consultations with India’s intelligence agencies, already stretched in its pursuit of covert jihadi terror groups within the country. To add to their labours would be the height of folly.
Mr Tharoor is a popinjay looking to make a political comeback. He had hopes of succeeding Kofi Annan as UN Secretary General, but these were thwarted by Britain, EU and the United States. Appealing to counterfeit patriotism and vote banks is the Tharoor mantra.
To return, however, to Minister Sushma Swaraj and her conversations in Dhaka: beyond the Rohingya question, are issues of broader regional integration. Bangladesh is the hub of a grouping of Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand and India. The goal is to enhance trade and investment and all forms of cooperation in industry, agriculture, science, technology and culture. An extensive road network is work in progress to link these countries and facilitate these ends. In time the venture could be expanded to include Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.
Clearly, India has given up on Pakistan and the dysfunctional South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). In truth it was stillborn from the moment of its ill-starred conception. It was a foolhardy project which consumed much wasted time and money. Pious words were no guarantee of pious deeds from Pakistan, as jihadi terror attacks emanating from across the border multiplied., and continue to do so.
Finally, India’s lead role in the above grouping has been prompted by geopolitical concerns. Chinese hostility, far from being assuaged following the Doklam standoff, shows every sign of persisting, albeit in multiple forms. India’s deterrence capability leaves much to be desired, despite the cascade of reassurances to the contrary.
The Air Force is 12 squadrons short of full strength, and new acquisitions are still pie-n-the –skies. The previous Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar informed the media sometime in May 2016 that the appointment of a Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the final contract for the design and manufacture of the Fifth-Generation Aircraft with Russian had been finalized; that both recommendations had been forwarded to the Cabinet Committee. There has been a mysterious silence ever since. Hopefully the new Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will get things moving.
Kathak dancers in London
In this the India-UK Year of Culture, a troupe of Indian Kathak dancers and sarod artistes were in Britain’s capital city displaying their skills to an appreciative audience. It was a truly Indo-British occasion, where British opera star Patricia Rozario, sarod player Soumik Datta and guitarist Jonny Greenwood were among the 150 participants on view.
The idea of the festival was conceived during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Britain in 2015. Since its official launch earlier this year – the 70th anniversary of Indian independence – such cultural events have been taken place across Britain. Museums and educational institutions have complemented these activities with their own distinctive contributions. Taken the round participants have brought greater awareness of India among all sections of the British people, especially the younger generations of Britons, including those of Indian origin. Indian and Britain have a shared history; their values pertaining to the rule of law, freedom of speech and thought and a democratic way of life, makes for a unique bonding between its peoples. Long may this endure.
