Ex RAW chief: IC-814 was Vajpayee's fault, but what would've Cong done in his place?

[Spectre]

Beautiful quote, you're referring to the verse as per the Mishnah Sanhedrin:

Whoever destroys a soul, it is considered as if he destroyed an entire world. And whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world. — Mishnah Sanhedrin

Goes on to show at the core of each culture is a respect for life and human decency.

 

[Imran Khan]

why not india send sunny deol oor akhshy kumar for free the plane damn ?????????????

 

[Levina]

We have seen multiple countries have this policy of no negotiation with terrorists but if you google most of them have backtracked from this when faced with hostage exchange situations. US, UK, Japan you name it all have at one point or another negotiated with terrorists.

Every policy is open to exceptions.
Read this somewhere:
1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847- The Hezbollah hijackers demanded the release of more than 700 Shiites who were in Israeli prisons. After a long ordeal, all the hostages were released (except one American, who was murdered by the hijackers), and Israel released all 766 prisoners.

In those time there will be a immense public pressure not to negotiate as well as pressure from families of hostages to give in to their demands.

The truth is nobody wants to put the hostage's life at risk and ergo a ransom is generally considered a much safer option.

 

[Bang Galore]

It helps if we can avoid making sweeping judgement w/o knowing the full context of situation.

May be India messed up and may be we didn't. You do know that terrorists were armed to the teeth and wouldn't have hesitated in killing every single passenger if push came to shove.

Lives of passengers I believe you will agree with me is far more important than deaths of those two penny scum terrorists, Govt at that time didn't have proper protocols established for dealing with the situation in that case I personally believe they negotiators did a marvelous job of securing the hostages with minimum casualties.

That we had to cave in and release those terrorists is a source of national shame, but my friend I can live with that shame if it means those passengers get back to their loved ones safe.

In such situations, an ancient jewish quote comes to mind which I saw in movie Schindler's List

One who saves a life, saves the world entire.

-Peace

You do realise that one of those released was Masood Azhar who went to found the Jaish-e-Mohammed and probably has been responsible for more Indian deaths than the numbers on the plane........

Having said that, this argument about blunder etc are the result of hindsight. While the terrorists were probably not heavily armed in Amritsar (they are believed to have been supplied arms when the plane was in Pakistan), it is reasonable to assume that some deaths could have happened before any storming. Since no one would then have known about the hijackers intention to go to Afghanistan, the government would have been subject to heavy criticism. Today, if such a hijacking occurs, it is easier to be firm with all of this being in the public domain. Not then.

 

[Hindustani78]

India has a history of giving into demands of Terrorists, 5 terrorists were released after Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's daughter got kidnapped back in '89. As far as who's fault it was, i think it was collective responsibility of the politicians across the party lines for not having a strong policy when it came to dealing with such situations.

Kandhar Hijacking was done months after the Kargil war and i think Government during that time have showed that life of innocent Indian civilians matters.

Indian Army during the Kargil war have showed the courage on the battlefield.

We have been always blackmailed by the proxy war but now things have changed on the ground.

Every policy is open to exceptions.
Read this somewhere:
1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847- The Hezbollah hijackers demanded the release of more than 700 Shiites who were in Israeli prisons. After a long ordeal, all the hostages were released (except one American, who was murdered by the hijackers), and Israel released all 766 prisoners.


The truth is nobody wants to put the hostage's life at risk and ergo a ransom is generally considered a much safer option.

In no way problems of India can be compare with Israel.


Entebbe hijacking 1976

BBC NEWS | UK | Israel hijack role 'was queried'
In the document, written on 30 June 1976 when the crisis was still unresolved, DH Colvin of the Paris Embassy writes of his Euro-Arab Parliamentary Association source: "According to his information, the hijack was the work of the PFLP, with help from the Israeli Secret Service, the Shin Beit.

"The operation was designed to torpedo the PLO's standing in France and to prevent what they see as a growing rapprochement between the PLO and the Americans."

 

[FaujHistorian]

It helps if we can avoid making sweeping judgement w/o knowing the full context of situation.

May be India messed up and may be we didn't. You do know that terrorists were armed to the teeth and wouldn't have hesitated in killing every single passenger if push came to shove.

Lives of passengers I believe you will agree with me is far more important than deaths of those two penny scum terrorists, Govt at that time didn't have proper protocols established for dealing with the situation in that case I personally believe they negotiators did a marvelous job of securing the hostages with minimum casualties.

That we had to cave in and release those terrorists is a source of national shame, but my friend I can live with that shame if it means those passengers get back to their loved ones safe.

In such situations, an ancient jewish quote comes to mind which I saw in movie Schindler's List

One who saves a life, saves the world entire.

-Peace

@Nihonjin1051 @FaujHistorian @WAJsal your views please

Plane hijacking of any kind is extremely wrong on so many levels and thus my views will always be against such action.

Ex RAW Chief: IC-814 was Vajpayee's fault, but what would've Cong done in his place?
by Sandipan Sharma Jul 4, 2015 10:36 IST



It is India's great fortune that we have not had a repeat of IC-814 incident. Had another plane been hijacked under similar circumstances, we would have known how much of "we-don't-negotiate" bombast of the current politicians survived public pressure.

So, the Congress can count its blessings and continue berating the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government for releasing three terrorists in return of the passengers in the hijacked aircraft. Let us hope the Congress is never put to a similar test.

"Let me say, we goofed up... what was upper most in everybody's mind was security of the people," former RAW chief AS Dulat said on the Kandahar hijack during an interview on India Today television on Thursday. Dulat is right.


A file photo of Talibanis praying near the hijacked IC-814 flight. REUTERS

During the six tense days of the hijacking drama — from the moment the plane left Nepal and reached Kandahar — there was not even a moment when the Vajpayee government had the option of sacrificing the passengers and crew. Visuals of shabbily dressed Talibanis circling the plane with Kalashnikovs and rocket launchers, the murder of Rupin Katyal, who was stabbed by hijackers, the mounting pressure from relatives of passengers, the prevailing mood in the nation and the emotional subtext of the coverage of the event had left Vajpayee with no other option.

To complicate matters, the drama was played out on the land of the Taliban and the hideout of Osama bin Laden. The West had refused to help India in its fight. There was no way Vajpayee could have allowed the slaughter of innocent Indians on the eve of a new millennium. He had to give in to the demands of the terrorists.

On New Year's Eve (1999), when passengers were finally freed and brought back to Delhi, the scene at the airport was of jubilation and relief. Thousands of people had gathered for the welcome, the crew was garlanded as victorious heroes, there were drums, music, cheering and dancing; not even a hint that India had capitulated.

It is not difficult to imagine how this emotionally-charged crowd had reacted if the passengers were brought back into body bags and coffins. The country would have erupted in anger. "We got back our 155 for their three. My thanks to Jaswant Singh," an anxious relative had told newspapers then, summing up the opinion of the majority.

Jaswant Singh, who took the ridiculous decision of accompanying the freed terrorists, was not a symbol of a soft state then. He was seen as a representative of a state that saved 155 lives. Vajpayee, back then, had decided to fight another day.

Just to put the record straight, here are two instances of the Congress surrendering to militants. In 1991, an executive director of Indian Oil was kidnapped by militants in Srinagar. To secure his release, the then home minister SB Chavan released nine militants. Two years later, nearly four dozen JKLF militants were allowed safe passage from the Hazratbal shrine, where they had held 170 civilians hostage for six weeks.

It is difficult to imagine the Congress could have had the courage to act differently when asked to choose between the lives of IC-814 passengers and Maulana Masood Azhar and his cronies. But Dulat is right in blaming the Vajpayee government for lack of quick response to the hijacking.

Soon after the terrorists entered the plane's cockpit, its pilot Devisharan managed to send a timely SOS to the air traffic controller. To give the government adequate time to react, he even slowed down the speed of the plane significantly and convinced the terrorists to allow him to land for refueling in Indian territory.

But, as Dulat says, the Indian government froze. "So instead of giving out clear instruction to Punjab police, which was in charge on ground there... nobody was willing to say this plane should never be allowed to leave Amritsar. That nobody said, because nobody was willing to take that call. Everybody thought what will happen if people die," he said.

But, back then, even Dulat had been criticized for not being able to pre-empt the incident. As the RAW chief, it was, after all, his job to track terrorists and ideally foil their plans. The hijacking was, in fact, an example of the failure of the entire Indian machinery. To argue today that 155 innocent people should have paid the price of the state's inefficiency is pure hypocrisy and insensitivity.

Dulat's shocking revelations: IC-814 was Vajpayee's fault, but what would've Cong done in his place? - Firstpost

When we discuss plane hijackings, we should keep in mind Ganga hijacking as well.

 

[JonAsad]

so according to new indian doctrine a few dozen dead innocent indian passengers during a rescue operation regardless of the outcome is much better than succumbing to terrorists demand?-

 

[Hindustani78]

so according to new indian doctrine a few dozen dead innocent indian passengers during a rescue operation regardless of the outcome is much better than succumbing to terrorists demand?-

That hijacking took place months after Kargil war and when the Kargil report was tabled in Indian Parliament , it was mentioned about the link between Kargil war and Kandhar Hijacking.

I think Taliban Government was thinking to get International acceptance where as the Pakistan side were successful in blocking Taliban acceptance . Taliban came in power in 1994 but were not ready to accept the Durrand line. Even during the Kargil war, it was the Pakistani soldiers who fought but the blame was pushed towards Talibans but with time Indian intelligence disclosed that it was Pakistan soldiers and irregulars who were dead.

 

[jaatram]

so according to new indian doctrine a few dozen dead innocent indian passengers during a rescue operation regardless of the outcome is much better than succumbing to terrorists demand?-

And how you deduced this new policy?

 

[Hindustani78]

And how you deduced this new policy?

PM's Adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz yesterday said both leaders were of the opinion that for lasting peace the way forward was to address the outstanding issues like Kashmir, Siachen and Sir Creek.

"The two sides also agreed to take up these issues under the back-channel Track-II mechanism for better understanding of each other's point of view," the Dawn quoted Aziz as saying.

 

[Levina]

In no way problems of India can be compare with Israel.

I did not compare it with Israel. The example I had quoted was merely to prove that every nation softens its stance during a worst case scenario.

When we discuss plane hijackings, we should keep in mind Ganga hijacking as well.

Was a plane hijacked from Ganga???
How is it related sir???

 

[FaujHistorian]

Was a plane hijacked from Ganga???
How is it related sir???

Levina Ji

I thought you were the history buff. Not?

Ganga was the name of the plane I think.

Do google on Ganga hijacking please before asking questions. Thank you

 

[jaatram]

Levina Ji

I thought you were the history buff. Not?

Ganga was the name of the plane I think.

Do google on Ganga hijacking please before asking questions. Thank you

What's about it?

 

[Hindustani78]

I did not compare it with Israel. The example I had quoted was merely to prove that every nation softens its stance during a worst case scenario.

Policy adopted by Indian lawmakers has been always matured but in case of Israel, it has always created problems for itself.