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Saturday, September 15, 2007

[ALOCHONA] R.A.W.: An Instrument of Indian Imperialism

R.A.W.: An Instrument of Indian Imperialism

source:http://www.worldpress.org/Asia/2927.cfm

Isha Khan
Dhaka, Bangladesh
September 12, 2007

Pakistani policemen escort militants involved in bomb
blasts in the southern Sindh province with the alleged
backing of India's intelligence agency R.A.W. in 2005.

India's intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing
(R.A.W.), created in 1968, has assumed a significant
status in the formulation of the country's domestic
and foreign policies, particularly the latter. Working
directly under the prime minister, it has over the
years become an effective instrument of India's
national power. In consonance with Kautilya's
precepts, R.A.W.'s espionage doctrine is based on the
principle of waging a continuous series of battles of
intrigues and secret wars. (Kautilya, or more
popularly, Chânakya, was an ancient Indian political
theorist.)

Since its creation, R.A.W. has been a vital, though
unobtrusive, actor in the Indian policy-making
apparatus. But it is the massive international
dimensions of R.A.W. operations that merit a closer
examination. To the credit of this organization, it
has in a very short span of time mastered the art of
spy warfare. Credit must go to Indira Gandhi who in
the late 1970's gave it a changed and much more
dynamic role. To suit her much publicized Indira
Doctrine (India Doctrine), Gandhi specifically asked
R.A.W. to create a powerful organ within the
organization that could undertake covert operations in
neighboring countries. It is this capability that
makes R.A.W. a more fearsome agency than the superior
K.G.B., C.I.A., M.I.6, B.N.D., or Mossad.

Its internal role is confined only to monitoring
events that have a bearing on the external threat.
R.A.W.'s boss works directly under the prime minister.
An Additional secretary to the government of India,
under the director of R.A.W., is responsible for the
Office of Special Operations, intelligence collected
from different countries, internal security (under the
director general of security), the
electronic/technical section, and general
administration. The additional secretary as well as
the director general of security is also under the
director of R.A.W. The director of security has two
important sections: the Aviation Research Center and
the Special Services Bureau. The joint director has
specified desks with different regional
divisions/areas (countries): area one, Pakistan; area
two, China and Southeast Asia; area three, the Middle
East and Africa; and area four, other countries.

The Aviation Research Center (A.R.C.) is responsible
for interception, monitoring and jamming of a target
country's communication systems. It has the most
sophisticated electronic equipment and also a
substantial number of aircraft equipped with
state-of-the-art eavesdropping devices. A.R.C. was
strengthened in mid-1987 by the addition of three new
aircraft, all Gulf Stream-3s. These aircraft can
reportedly fly at an altitude of 52,000 feet and have
an operating range of 5,000 kilometers. A.R.C. also
controls a number of radar stations located close to
India's borders. Its aircraft also carry out oblique
reconnaissance, along the border with Bangladesh,
China, Nepal, and Pakistan.

Having been given virtual carte blanche to conduct
destabilization operations in neighboring countries
inimical to India, R.A.W. seriously undertook
restructuring of its organization accordingly. R.A.W.
was given a list of seven countries—Bangladesh, Sri
Lanka, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Pakistan, and
Maldives—that India considered its principal regional
protagonists. It very soon systematically and
brilliantly crafted covert operations in all these
countries to coerce, destabilize, and subvert them in
consonance with the foreign policy objectives of the
Indian government.

R.A.W.'s operations against the regional countries
were conducted with great professional skill and
expertise. Central to the operations was the
establishment of a huge network inside the target
countries. It used and targeted political dissent,
ethnic divisions, economic backwardness, and criminal
elements within these states to foment subversion,
terrorism, and sabotage. Having thus created conducive
environments, R.A.W. stage-managed future events in
these countries in such a way that military
intervention appears a natural concomitant of the
events. In most cases, R.A.W.'s hand remained hidden,
but more often than not target countries soon began
unearthing this "hidden hand." A brief expose of
R.A.W.'s operations in neighboring countries, "Open
Secrets: India's Intelligence Unveiled " by M. K. Dhar
(Manas Publications, New Delhi, 2005), revealed the
full expanse of its regional ambitions to suit the
India Doctrine.
Bangladesh

Indian intelligence agencies were involved in
erstwhile East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, beginning in
the early 1960's. Its operatives were in touch with
Sheikh Mujib for quite some time. Sheikh Mujib went to
Agartala in 1965. The famous Agartala case was
unearthed in 1967. In fact, the main purpose of
raising R.A.W. in 1968 was to organize covert
operations in Bangladesh. As early as 1968, R.A.W. was
given a green light to begin mobilizing all its
resources for the impending surgical intervention in
erstwhile East Pakistan. When in July 1971 General
Manekshaw told Prime Minister Indira Gandhi that the
army would not be ready until December to intervene in
Bangladesh, she quickly turned to R.A.W. for help.
R.A.W. was ready. Its officers used Bengali refugees
to set up the guerilla force Mukti Bahini. Using this
outfit as a cover, the Indian military sneaked deep
into Bangladesh. The story of Mukti Bahini and
R.A.W.'s role in its creation and training is now well
known. R.A.W. never concealed its Bangladesh
operations. (See Asoka Raina's "Inside R.A.W.: the
story of India's Secret Service, Vikas Publishing
House of New Delhi.)

The creation of Bangladesh was masterminded by R.A.W.
in complicity with the K.G.B. under the covert clauses
of the Indo-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and
Cooperation (adopted as the 25-Year Indo-Bangladesh
Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in 1972).

R.A.W. retained a keen interest in Bangladesh even
after its independence. Subramaniam Swamy, Janata Dal
member of Parliament, a close associate of Morarji
Desai, said that Rameswar Nath Kao, former chief of
R.A.W., and Shankaran Nair were upset about Sheikh
Mujib's assassination and chalked a plot to kill Gen.
Ziaur Rahman. However, when Desai came to power in
1977 he was indignant at R.A.W.'s role in Bangladesh
and ordered operations in Bangladesh to be called off;
but by then R.A.W. had already gone too far. General
Zia continued in power for quite some time but was
assassinated after Indira Gandhi returned to power,
though she denied involvement in his assassination
(Weekly Sunday, Calcutta, Sept. 18, 1988).

R.A.W. was involved in training of Chakma tribes and
Shanti Bahini, who carried out subversive activities
in Bangladesh. It also unleashed a well-organized plan
of psychological warfare, created polarization among
the armed forces, propagated false allegations of the
use of Bangladesh territory by Pakistan's
Inter-Services Intelligence agency, created dissension
among the political parties and religious sects,
controlled the media, denied the use of river waters,
and propped up a host of disputes in order to keep
Bangladesh under constant political and socio-economic
pressure (See "R.A.W. and Bangladesh" by Mohammad
Zainal Abedin, November 1995, and "R.A.W. in
Bangladesh: Portrait of an Aggressive Intelligence,"
written and published by Abu Rushd, Dhaka).
Sikkim and Bhutan

Sikkim was the easiest and most docile prey for R.A.W.
Indira Gandhi annexed the Kingdom of Sikkim in the
mid-1970's. The deposed King Chogyal Tenzig Wangehuck
was closely followed by R.A.W.'s agents until his
death in 1992.

Bhutan, like Nepal and Sikkim, is a land-locked
country totally dependent on India. R.A.W. developed
links with members of the royal family as well as top
bureaucrats to implements its policies. It cultivated
agents from among Nepalese settlers and put itself in
a position to create difficulties for the government
of Bhutan. In fact, the king of Bhutan has been
reduced to the position of merely acquiescing to New
Delhi's decisions and goes by its dictates in the
international arena.
Sri Lanka

Post-independence Sri Lanka, despite having a
multi-sectoral population, was a peaceful country
until 1971 and was following an independent foreign
policy. During the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war, despite
heavy pressure from India, Sri Lanka allowed
Pakistan's civil and military aircraft and ships to
stage through its air and seaports with unhindered
refueling facilities. It had also permitted Israel to
establish a nominal intelligence presence and
permitted the installation of a high-powered
transmitter by Voice of America, which was resented by
India.

It was because of these "irritants" that Indira Gandhi
planned to bring Sri Lanka into the fold of the
so-called Indira Doctrine (India Doctrine). Kao was
told by Gandhi to repeat their Bangladesh success.
R.A.W. went looking for militants it could train to
destabilize the regime. Camps were set up in Tamil
Nadu and old R.A.W. guerrilla trainers were dug out of
retirement. R.A.W. began arming the Tamil Tigers and
training them at centers such as Gunda and Gorakhpur.
As a sequel to this ploy, Sri Lanka was forced into
the Indian power web when the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord of
1987 was singed and the Indian Peacekeeping Force
landed in Sri Lanka.

The Ministry of External Affairs was upset at R.A.W.'s
role in Sri Lanka as they felt that R.A.W. was
continuing negotiations with Tamil Tiger leader
Parabhakaran in contravention to the Indian
government's foreign policy. According to R.
Swaminathan, (former special secretary of R.A.W.) it
was this outfit that was used as the intermediary
between Rajib Gandhi and Tamil leader Parabhakaran.
Former Indian high commissioner in Sri Lanka J. N.
Dixit even accused R.A.W. of having given 10 million
rupees to the L.T.T.E. (Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam). At a later stage, R.A.W. built up the
E.P.R.L.F. (Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation
Front) and E.N.D.L.F. (Eelam National Democratic
Liberation Front) to fight against the L.T.T.E., which
made the situation in Sri Lanka highly volatile and
uncertain later on.
Maldives

Under a well-orchestrated R.A.W. plan, on Nov. 30,
1988, a 300- to 400-strong well-trained force of
mercenaries armed with automatic weapons, initially
said to be of unknown origin, infiltrated in boats and
stormed the capital of Maldives. They resorted to
indiscriminate shooting and took high-level government
officials hostage. At the Presidential Palace, the
small contingent of loyal national guards offered
stiff resistance, which enabled President Maumoon
Abdul Gayoom to move to a safe place where he issued
urgent appeals for help from India, Pakistan, Sri
Lanka, Britain, and the United States.

Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi reacted promptly
and about 1,600 combat troops belonging to the 50th
Independent Para-Brigade in conjunction with Indian
naval units landed at Male, the capital of Maldives,
under the code name Operation Cactus. A number of
Indian air force transport aircraft, escorted by
fighters, were used for landing personnel, heavy
equipment, and supplies. Within hours of landing,
Indian troops flushed out the attackers from the
streets and hideouts. Some of them surrendered to
Indian troops, and many were captured by Indian naval
units while trying to escape with their hostages in a
Maldivian ship, Progress Light. Most of the 30
hostages, including Ahmed Majtaba, Maldives' minister
of transport, were released. The Indian government
announced the success of Operation Cactus and
complimented the armed forces for a good job done.

The Indian defense minister, while addressing air
force personnel at Bangalore, claimed that the
country's prestige had been raised because of the
peace-keeping role played by Indian forces in
Maldives. The international community in general and
South Asian states in particular, however, viewed with
suspicion the over-all concept and motives of the
operation. The Western media described it as a display
by India of its newly acquired military muscle and its
growing role as a regional police force. Although the
apparent identification of two Maldivian nationals
among the mercenaries, at face value, link it with
previous such attempts, other converging factors
indicative of external involvement could hardly be
ignored. That the mercenaries sailed from Manar and
Kankasanturai in Sri Lanka, which were in complete
control of the Indian Peacekeeping Force, and the
timing and speed of India's intervention proved its
involvement beyond any doubt.
Nepal

Since the partition of the subcontinent, India has
openly meddled in Nepal's internal affairs by
contriving internal strife and conflicts through
R.A.W. to destabilize the successive legitimate
governments and prop up puppet regimes that would be
more amenable to Indian machinations. Armed
insurrections were sponsored and abetted by R.A.W. and
later requests for military assistance to control
these conflicts were managed through pro-India
leaders. India has been aiding and inciting the
Nepalese dissidents to collaborate with the Nepali
Congress. For this they were supplied arms whenever
the king or the Nepalese government appeared to be
drifting away from India's dictates and impinging on
India's hegemonic designs in the region. In fact,
under the garb of the so-called democratization
measures, the Maoists were actively encouraged to
collect arms and resort to open rebellion against the
legitimate Nepalese governments. The contrived
rebellions provided India an opportunity to intervene
militarily in Nepal, ostensibly to control the
insurrections, which were masterminded by R.A.W.
itself. It was an active replay of the Indian
performance in Sri Lanka and Maldives a few years
earlier. R.A.W. is particularly aiding the people of
Indian origin and has been providing them with arms
and ammunition. R.A.W. has also infiltrated the ethnic
Nepali refugees who have been extradited by Bhutan and
taken refuge in eastern Nepal. R.A.W. can exploit its
links with these refugees whenever either country goes
against Indian interests. Besides, the Nepalese
economy is totally controlled by Indian moneylenders,
financiers, and business mafia. (See "R.A.W.'s
Machinations in South Asia" by Shastra Dutta Pant,
Kathmandu, 2003.)
Afghanistan

Since December 1979, throughout the Afghan War, the
K.G.B., K.H.A.D. (W.A.D.) (a former Afghan
intelligence outfit), and R.A.W. stepped up their
efforts to concentrate on influencing and covertly
exploiting the tribes on both sides of the
Pakistan-Afghanistan border. There was intimate
coordination between the three intelligence agencies
not only in Afghanistan but also in Pakistan, where
destabilization was sought through a subversion and
sabotage plan related to Afghan refugees and
mujahideen in the tribal belt and inside Pakistan.
They jointly organized spotting and recruitment of
hostile tribesmen and trained them in guerrilla
warfare, infiltration, subversion, sabotage, and the
establishment of saboteur forces/terrorist
organizations in the pro-Afghan tribes of Pakistan in
order to carry out bombings in Afghan refugee camps in
the Northwest Frontier province (NWFP) and Baluchistan
to threaten and pressure them to return to
Afghanistan. They also carried out bomb blasts in
populated areas deep inside Pakistan to create panic
and hatred in the minds of locals against Afghan
refugee mujahideen to pressure Pakistan to change its
policies on Afghanistan.
Pakistan

Pakistan's size, strength, and potential have always
overawed India. It has always considered Pakistan to
be the main opponent to its expansionist doctrine.
India's animosity toward Pakistan is psychologically
and ideologically deep-rooted and unassailable.
India's 1965 and 1971 wars with Pakistan over Kashmir,
which resulted in the dismemberment of Pakistan and
the creation of Bangladesh, are just two examples.

R.A.W. considers Sindh province to be Pakistan's soft
underbelly. It has made it the prime target for
sabotage and subversion. R.A.W. has enrolled an
extensive network of agents and antigovernment
elements and is convinced that with a little push
restless Sindh will revolt. Taking full advantage of
the agitation in Sindh in 1983, and the periodic
ethnic riots, which have continued to today, R.A.W.
has deeply penetrated Sindh and cultivated dissidents
and secessionists, thereby creating hard-liners
unlikely to allow peace to return to Sindh. R.A.W. is
also similarly involved in Baluchistan.

R.A.W. is also being blamed for confusing the ground
situation is Kashmir so as to keep the world's
attention away from the gross human rights violations
in Indian-occupied Kashmir. Pakistan's Inter-Services
Intelligence agency (I.S.I.), being almost 20 years
older than R.A.W. and having acquired a much higher
standard of efficiency in its functioning, has become
the prime target of R.A.W.'s designs. The I.S.I. is
considered to be a stumbling block in R.A.W.'s
operations and has been made a target of massive
misinformation and propaganda campaigns. The tirade
against I.S.I. continues unabated. The idea is to keep
I.S.I. on the defensive by alleging that it has had a
hand in supporting the Kashmiri mujahideen and the
Sikhs in Punjab. R.A.W.'s fixation on I.S.I. has taken
the shape of I.S.I.-phobia, as in India everyone
traces the origin of all happenings and shortcomings
to the I.S.I. Whenever and wherever there is a
kidnapping, a bank robbery, a financial scandal, a
bomb blast, or what have you, the I.S.I. is deemed to
have had a hand in it. (See "R.A.W.: Global and
Regional Ambitions" edited by Rashid Ahmad Khan and
Muhammad Saleem, Islamabad Policy Research Institute,
Asia Printers, Islamabad, 2005).

In summary, R.A.W. over the years has admirably
fulfilled its tasks of destabilizing target states
through the unbridled export of terrorism. The Indira
Doctrine spelt out a difficult and onerous role for
R.A.W. It goes to its credit that it has accomplished
its assigned objectives due to the endemic weakness in
the state apparatus of these nations and the failures
of their leaders.

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