Nineties and Dulats Book- Reading Between Lines?

July 18th, 2015 | Comments Off on Nineties and Dulats Book- Reading Between
Lines?
PUNCHLINE
Behind The Lid Off
Z.G. Muhammad

Memoirs are important for telling the whole story about political struggles. Not
only the memoirs of the major dramatis personae involved in the struggles are
important for the narratives of the struggling nations but even stories told by those
involved in subverting these struggles help in telling the whole story. True, there
are instances like, A Million Little Pieces by James Frey promoted and sold as
memoirs later discovered as works of fiction or semi-fiction.

For telling the whole story of post- 1947 Kashmir, I see memoirs like, Kashmir
War of 1947-48: Slender was the Thread, by Brigadier L. P. Sen, Nehrus
emissary to Kashmir by Major General Hira Lal Atal, or Kargil, From Surprise to
Victory by General V. P Malik as important source material for Kashmir story.
Memoirs of spy-masters like B.N. Mullik, My Days with Nehru- Kashmir or A.
S. Dulat, Kashmir: The Vajpayee Years with all scepticism do provide some slit
to peep into some behind the scene developments that did have had an
adverse impact on the political struggle of people of Jammu and Kashmir.
There can be no denying there are always elements of fiction in such memoirs but
a sharp student of history by juxtaposing the memoirs with the political situation
obtaining during the period can chaff truth from the falsehood. Kashmir: the
Vajpayee years might be suffering from some inaccuracies, some distortion and it
may have some elements of fiction in it but it cannot be dismissed as trash. It does
provide an insight into New Delhis machinations and tactics in looking for
collaborators and willing partners from combatants and political leaders, who
were ostensibly in the vanguard after 1989 for undermining the peoples
movement. To understand the purpose behind and the real import and impact of
New Delhis machinations in seeking collaboration of dramatis personae the book
needs to be read in a certain perspective.
 In forty two years history after landing of
army on 27 October 1947 at Srinagar airport, the GOI in 1989, 1990 and after was
facing first ever serious challenge in Kashmir. Much more serious than it had faced
during the 1964 Holy Relic Movement. The 1964 movement had put state
administration out of gear and sent the ruling elite in to hiding. In 1989, for the
first time, the GOIs institutions in Kashmir had not only been unnerved but teared
apart. Many had crumbled like a pack of cards. Even most powerful wanted to
pack and go. Talking about fear of getting lynched by people at the Duj Nath
RAW chiefs residence in Barazalla along with six others Dulat writes, During
that killing spree of I.B. officers there came a day when I was sort of gheraoed by
my IB colleagues in my office. The staff came out, all twenty of them, and they
then told me that they felt insecure in Srinagar. What happened was all the central
government employees had run away from Kashmir that winter; they had
disappeared, leaving behind nobody. The only people left were IB. The staff said,
we are the only ones left and place is not secure.(P63) This situation speaks
volumes.

The major setback to New Delhis interests

in the state was running away of political leaders and workers of parties like the
National Conference and Pradesh Congress. The fast changing political scenario
and developments had given a sense of victory to people and they were looking for
their new heroes amongst the combatants. The long fights put by combatants
largely changed the psychology of people whose marshal spirit had been drained
during four hundred years alien rule. The changed public psyche was another
major challenge for powers that be- if the urban guerrilla warfare does not throw
up strong leaders like Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, Ho Chi Minh or Ahmed Ben
Bella with international personality. Targeting and winning over the potential
commanders became the task.
On diplomatic front, after 1962, China War Kashmir was for the first time posing
a greater challenge to New Delhi. Once again Kashmir had taken a central place
in the United States South-Asia policy. Ms. Robin Raphel was councillor of
Political Affairs in US Embassy in New Delhi actively interacted with the various
groups in Jammu & Kashmir and more prominently with the Hurriyat Conference.
Stating US policy about Kashmir in a statement she had said, We view Kashmir
as a disputed territory and that means that we do not recognize that instrument of
accession as meaning that Kashmir is forevermore an integral part of India.
Despite, New Delhi crying hoarse Washington did not distance itself from her
statement but more than once stated it was consistent with the Washingtons
formal position on Kashmir dispute. She articulated the same views about US
policy towards Kashmir, after taking over as Assistant Secretary of State during
the Clinton Administration. The State Department regularly issued assessment
about Kashmir situation. These assessments coupled with congressional
testimonies, and reports by the human rights organizations had put New Delhi

internationally in a tight corner.

New Delhi adopted a multi-pronged strategy for taking wind out of sails of the
movement and defeating Kashmir Dispute regaining primacy as an unsettled
dispute. For neutralizing the urban guerrillas it used catch and Kill policy and
created counter-insurgent outfits. To establish contacts with combatant leaders
and work on them it first used the human rights activists and journalists. Kuldip
Nayar in his book Beyond the Lines, tells us how he succeeded in his mission.
New Delhi sent to Srinagar lots of interlocutors including some top intellectuals
like Prof .A. M. Khusro with baskets of concessions, privileges and baits of
power. The power-bait, did attract some top leaders but with fear reigning
supreme in their minds they often stumbled at the door step. Dulat, writes in detail
how the spymaster engaged some leaders with media-created larger than life image
holding of bait of power in his hand. Seen in right perspective such engagements at
a time when Kashmir was regaining its importance at international level were
detrimental to the peoples movement- thus could be construed even betrayal with
them. However, even scanty in information Dulats book needs to be debated ny
political analyst dispassionately.