Book Review
Reviewer: Umar Bashir
Author: A. S. Dulat & Aditya Sinha
Publisher: Harper Collins India
Pages: 342
Price: 599/- INR
ISBN: 978-93-5177-066-4
ISBN: 978-93-5177-066-4
Genre: Non-fiction
Also, the author has showered unwanted praise on Dr. Farooq Abdullah by calling him the tallest leader of Kashmir, which by all means is a highly contested claim.
An interesting aspect of the book is that it provides a rare insight into how Indian intelligence agencies and sleuths perceive the Kashmir problem e.g. He uses the word Kashmir Movement i.e. Tehreek for kashmir’s resistance movement and in the next breath denounces it by saying that Azadi for Kashmir from India is not possible and thus makes it evident that the people in Indian establishment only follow the state policy of supressing the genuine and globally accepted sentiments of Kashmiris, for which they use all means: legal and illegal.
Nevertheless, an interesting and engaging read!
Kashmir, after the rigged state elections of 1987, provided a new challenge for Indian security establishment. The ensuing armed struggle was suppressed by India using two-fold but blinkered policy of counter insurgency and engagement (as its key tools). A. S. Dulat, the former RAW chief of India was a key player in implementing this policy of India in Kashmir.
Dulat’s book Kashmir the Vajpayee years, co-authored by Aditya Sinha, a senior journalist, deals with his engagement with Kashmir from 1988 up to 2004. During 1990s, when Kashmir was quickly slipping out of India’s hands, A. S. Dulat was entrusted with the job of handling the turbulence in Kashmir. Dulat served as station chief of IB in Kashmir, then headed the India’s external intelligence agency RAW and finally served as adviser to PM Vajpayee on Kashmir from 2001 to 2004.
According to Dulat, to control Kashmir which was quickly slipping from India’s hands in 1990s, it was important to engage Huriyyat and give them political space. And India consciously engaged Huriyyat and Dulat played a key role in this engagement. He met almost every separatist leader in Kashmir except Syed Ali Geelani and developed social relations with them. He visited them on key occasions. But, all this was done with a motive i.e. to weigh their political maturity and bow them to India’s tone. His social relations with Hurriyat leaders later proved to be very crucial in containing the Kashmir Resistance Movement.
Dulat’s book Kashmir the Vajpayee years, co-authored by Aditya Sinha, a senior journalist, deals with his engagement with Kashmir from 1988 up to 2004. During 1990s, when Kashmir was quickly slipping out of India’s hands, A. S. Dulat was entrusted with the job of handling the turbulence in Kashmir. Dulat served as station chief of IB in Kashmir, then headed the India’s external intelligence agency RAW and finally served as adviser to PM Vajpayee on Kashmir from 2001 to 2004.
When Militancy was at its peak, Dulat started secret negotiations with key figures in Militant ranks. His job was to compel them to give up their anti-India rebellion. He spend too much money and bribed almost everybody in Kashmir.Dulat writes in the book that he addressed the turbulence in Kashmir in a different way. i.e. he preferred dialogue to clandestine manoeuvres. He advocated talks to handle the Separatist sentiments and Militancy in Kashmir instead of counter intelligence operations. When Militancy was at its peak, Dulat started secret negotiations with key figures in Militant ranks. His job was to compel them to give up their anti-India rebellion. Dulat brags of how his team turned key figures (in Separatist and Militant ranks) like Abdul Majid Dar, Hashim Qureshi, Firdous Syed (Babar Badr), etc. to their side by using his way of Counter Intelligence. The chapters like “PROXY WARRIOR”, “TINKER TAILOR, HIJACKER, SPY”, “THE DEFECTOR WHO SHOOK PAKISTAN”, are exclusively in the book to establish this claim. He spend too much money and bribed almost everybody in Kashmir. However, Dulat has consciously left out operational details from the book and has focused solely on his dialogue (secret negotiations) with various separatist and militant figures of Kashmir.
According to Dulat, to control Kashmir which was quickly slipping from India’s hands in 1990s, it was important to engage Huriyyat and give them political space. And India consciously engaged Huriyyat and Dulat played a key role in this engagement. He met almost every separatist leader in Kashmir except Syed Ali Geelani and developed social relations with them. He visited them on key occasions. But, all this was done with a motive i.e. to weigh their political maturity and bow them to India’s tone. His social relations with Hurriyat leaders later proved to be very crucial in containing the Kashmir Resistance Movement.
Cutting the Gordian knot:
The Author has also elaborated upon various important events which took place during his stint at IB and RAW like the Kidnapping of Indian Home Minister, Mufti Muhammad Syed’s daughter Rubia Syed, Kargil war between India and Pakistan, Kandahar Hijacking, etc. but he mainly has deliberated his book on the efforts made during Vajpayee years to solve the Kashmir Issue. According to the Author, Vajpayee had vision and sincerity to solve the Kashmir problem and his close proximity with Nawaaz Shareef and then General Parvez musharaf had brought India and Pakistan on brink of the solution of Kashmir. The solution broadly revolved around Musharaf’s 4 point formula, which included the joint control (by India & Pakistan) of both parts of Jammu & Kashmir, improving people to people contact, softening of the borders, etc. According to Dulat, all the stake holders including India, Pakistan and Huriyyat, except S.A. Geelani had agreed on the proposed solution of Kashmir problem. However, author laments, following the loss of BJP in 2004 Lok Sabha elections, Manmohan Singh, the successor of Vajpayee, could not seal the deal with Pakistan.His revelations about Huriyyat leaders seem to be an attempt to disregard their credibility in the eyes of Kashmiri people.
Final Comments:
The book is full of revelations and exposes. However, the book is without any references and is primarily based on Dulat’s personal accounts and anecdotes, thus making it very difficult for a reader to ascertain the validity of his claims. Furthermore, his revelations about Huriyyat leaders seem to be an attempt to disregard their credibility in the eyes of Kashmiri people. However, we are yet to witness any noticeable response to his claims from the resistance camp, barring a few.Also, the author has showered unwanted praise on Dr. Farooq Abdullah by calling him the tallest leader of Kashmir, which by all means is a highly contested claim.
An interesting aspect of the book is that it provides a rare insight into how Indian intelligence agencies and sleuths perceive the Kashmir problem e.g. He uses the word Kashmir Movement i.e. Tehreek for kashmir’s resistance movement and in the next breath denounces it by saying that Azadi for Kashmir from India is not possible and thus makes it evident that the people in Indian establishment only follow the state policy of supressing the genuine and globally accepted sentiments of Kashmiris, for which they use all means: legal and illegal.
Nevertheless, an interesting and engaging read!
About The Reviewer:
Umar Bashir is a student of Islamic Studies with special interest in Islamic History and Contemporary conflicts in Islamic world.
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