INDIAN SPOOKS GIVE NEW DEFINITION TO INDIAN DEMOCRACY

INDIAN SPOOKS GIVE NEW DEFINITION TO INDIAN DEMOCRACY

By

Maj Gen VK Singh

The recent news report that the Government of India has placed a ban on publication of books and articles by officers who have served in intelligence and security agencies, even after they retire from service, is clearly unconstitutional. In a sense, it gives a new definition to democracy in India. Instead of a government of the people, by the people and for the people, we now have a government of the spooks, by the spooks and for the spooks.

The order was published in the Gazette of India on 31 March 2008. Why did it take three months to be revealed to the public? Who was responsible for keeping this information from the people? The answer is obvious. One wonders if the government controls the intelligence agencies or is it the other way round, as sometimes happens in a neighbouring country.

The legality of the order will no doubt be challenged in the courts, which in all likelihood will strike it down. However, until it remains, it will have far reaching implications.  As it stands, officers from organizations such as RAW, IB, CBI, and the paramilitary forces are covered by the ban. Why has the bureaucracy been left out? Surely, officers who have held the appointments of Cabinet Secretary, Defence Secretary and Home Secretary are privy to much more than most officers in these organizations. The same applies to politicians. Surely the Ministers holding portfolios of defence, home and external affairs get to know quite a bit of sensitive information.

An important aspect that seems to have been missed is the far reaching effects of the ban on our military history. Military history is an important ingredient of military training. It is from past campaigns that present day military leaders draw lessons in tactics and strategy. There is a paper on the subject in promotion examinations and the entrance examinations for prestigious institutions like the Defence Services Staff College. Though Armed Forces officers are – thankfully – not covered by the ban, intelligence issues are closely linked with military history. The role of RAW in the 1971 operations in East Pakistan cannot be divorced from the military campaign. By placing a ban on retired officers, we are virtually throttling discussion of military affairs in all forms. This is likely to have serious implications for the Indian armed forces in the future. Books written by Clausewitz, Mahan, Liddel Hart, Eisenhower and Slim are like Bibles for officers of all armies and navies. In India, books written by DK Palit, RD Palsokar, KC Praval, SK Sinha, PS Bhagat, SL Menezes and Satyindra Singh form essential reading for all military officers. If they had not written these books, would India have a military history?

In recent years, intelligence agencies in India have begun to demand, and get, a growing say in governance. The political leadership, with little knowledge of their functioning, takes their words at face value and does what they want to be done.  With increase in terrorism, no body wants to risk disregarding the advice of intelligence czars, some of whom have begun to believe that they are reincarnations of J Edgar Hoover, the legendary chief of FBI in USA. The heavy veil of secrecy that covers our intelligence agencies hides little else than their shortcomings. In spite of the astronomical sums spent on them, they have utterly failed to provide information about a single terrorist attack in recent years. One only has to compare their performance with their predecessors to see the depths to which they have fallen. In 1914 -15 thousands of Ghadrites came to India from USA and Canada to foment trouble and carry out terrorist strikes. The Indian CID caught most of them as soon as they landed. Those who succeeded were arrested, tried and sentenced to death. During World War II the INA led by Subash Chandra Bose sent dozens of agents to India, by submarine or overland routes. Almost all were caught as soon as they arrived. With such an impeccable pedigree, why can’t our intelligence agencies do half as much?

In 2001 the Group of Ministers on National Security – it was headed by LK Advani, with Jaswant Singh, George Fernandes, and Yashwant Sinha as members - submitted its report to the Government. According to media reports, it was tabled in Parliament in May 2001. In August 2001, another news report quoted Shri LK Advani saying that the report would be discussed in Parliament.  However, it was later revealed that both reports were wrong. The GOM Report was never table in Parliament. Obviously, there was no debate.  The Report is available on the web site of the Ministry of Defence, but the entire chapter on Intelligence (pages 16 to 40) have been deleted. Significantly, there are no deletions in the chapter on Defence.  How did this happen? No one is ready to answer the question. However, the composition of the task force on intelligence has some pointers. It was headed by Girish Saxena, an ex Chief of RAW. Among its members were MK Narayanan, the present NSA and B Raman, an ex RAW officer.  Surprisingly, no law maker has raised his voice on this blatant insult to Parliament.

In June 2006 the second Administrative Reforms Commission chaired by Shri Veerappa Moily submitted its first report on ‘Right to Information – Master key to good governance’ to the Government. One of the key recommendations was that the Official Secrets Act, 1923 should be repealed, and suitable safeguards to protect the security of State should be incorporated in the National Security Act. In response to an RTI application, the Ministry of Home Affairs has stated that “The Government has constituted a Committee of Secretaries to examine the recommendations made by the 2^nd Administrative Reforms Commission.  The Committee did not accept the recommendations made by the Commission in view of the submission made by the Ministry of Home Affairs”. It does not require much imagination to guess who is behind the submission of the MHA.  One would imagine that it was for the Cabinet or the PM to take a decision in the matter. After all, constituting the Administrative Reforms Commission and implementing its recommendations were part of the 2004 manifesto of the Ruling Party. But the intelligence czars have put paid to the proposal, with no one in the UPA raising a whimper.

Clearly, it is the intelligence chiefs who call the shots today in South and North Block. The Ministers are either too preoccupied with other matters or feel it is prudent to leave such ‘sensitive’ issues to experts, so that their backs are covered in case things go wrong. The present gag order is an example of the growing clout of intelligence agencies in matters of State. One can only pray for Indian democracy. 

15 Nov 2010