RAW News & Discussions

[akzaman]

Notorious criminals of Dhaka's underworld seek safe haven across the border. What are they doing there?

How are Dhaka's 'top terrors' in Kolkata faring? The daily routine of one of these characters is pretty much like this: An hour's morning walk from 5 am to 6 am. Breakfast and another sleep session till noon. Then it's straight to the city in his chauffeur-driven Mahendra jeep. The marathon adda begins, gossiping and chatting with buddies of the same ilk at hotels and bus counters along Sadar Street, Park Street, Marquis Street ... in between, calls to and from Dhaka are made through the cell or from a public phone booth. Daily phone bills are astronomical -- around 10 thousand taka on average.

Next comes a shopping spree -- expensive shirts, trousers, gifts from the classier malls. Lunch at a choice restaurant and back to the flat in the evening. He pays about 5000 to 6000 rupees as monthly rent for the flat. It's well furnished, complete with TV, fridge and other amenities. Before he'd prepare his own meal at night, but now his wife cooks a delicious meal for him. Then the entire night is spent watching TV and movies -- that's the routine of a certain 'top terror' from Dhaka.

He is known by his acquaintances in Kolkata as 'Shubhra Dada'. He commands their respect and wields considerable clout there. This is none other that Dhaka's notorious criminal Trimati Subrata Bain. He features high on Bangladesh police's list of 23 'most wanted' criminals. While he makes frequent trips to Dhaka, he is more or less a permanent resident of Kolkata now. In fear of being killed in 'crossfire', Subrata Bain, alias Fateh Ali, has now settled in Kolkata with wife and children.

Safe haven for Bangladesh's criminals
Bangladesh's top criminals have found a safe haven in Nadia, Bongaon, Dumdum, Teghatia. Thakurpukur and Kolkata of the Indian state of West Bengal. When law enforcers turn tough or the criminals commit any serious crime here, they simply cross the border, legally or illegally. They take refuge in familiar haunts there, sheltered by official and unofficial 'protectors'.

Kolkata is a great favourite among these felons. This is nothing new. Ever since independence this has been a 'safe house' for those wanted this side of the border. After Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was killed in 1975, Kader Siddiqui fled the country with his group, setting up home and hearth in Bardwan. Since then the list of persons crossing over for refuge has been long -- Auranga, Golam Faruk Ovi, Major Muzaffar (accused in the Zia killing case), just to name a few. Prominent among the present 'absconders' are Jainul Hazari and Shamim Osman. Recently Mrinal, a left-wing 'terror' from Satkhira was killed in Nadia.

Investigations reveal that many of the terrorists have changed their names to avoid the law enforcers there and stay at various hotels and rented houses. However, a number of the top terrors are living in the lap of luxury there, under patronage of Indian police and intelligence wing. In exchange, they carry out various 'assignments' back in Bangladesh. It is reported that several bomb blasts and killings are all part and parcel of these assignments.

Further investigations reveal that many of these criminals are issued ID cards by the agency or the police so that they can roam around freely and safely. Then again, if problems crop up, sometimes the police snatch away the ID cards, tear them up and arrest the criminals. But the criminals are no fools. They keep several copies of the ID cards so if one is destroyed they simply pull out another. Two of the top criminals, though, are enjoying full safety under shelter of the intelligence there -- these are 'Shubra' and Joy. They are living in style.
Who are in Kolkata?

Other than the 'most wanted' criminals, there are several disreputable members of Bangladesh's underworld in and around Kolkata. The list is long -- Subrata Bain, Tanveerul Islam Joy, 'Nengra' Tajgir, Mollah Masud, Imon, Tutul, Bikash, Harris (leader of the infamous 'Harris Bahini'), former commission Fazlur Rahman Babul, Monir (brother of Pintu MP), Aga Mithu of Narayanganj and others. They all have several passports. Kolkata's money changers help them is getting these passports.

Kala Jahangir, dead of alive?
Kala Jahangir -- the name stands is synonymous with killing and extortion in Dhaka. Hailing from Bogra, Jahangir's family lives in Mirpur where his mother is a school teacher. His brother is an army officer. Kala Jahangir is the black sheep of the family. Though he has been out of the country for long, his associates still carry out extortion relentlessly, collecting lacs of taka in his name everyday.
Kala Jahangir presently is residing in Kolkata, according to reports. However, there are two rumours about him. Some of his close associates say he has gone off to Australia. The other rumour is that either on March 22 or April 22, 2004, he was apprehended by police in Bombay, brought to Kolkata where he was shot dead by the police and then taken by helicopter and dumped into the Ganges. However, sources say that these rumours are the brainchild of none other than the wily Kala Jahangir himself. Then again, many of the Bangladesh criminals in Kolkata say that they haven't seen him for quite some time and have no contact with him at all.

Mollah Masud

Mollah Masud is a close associate of Kala Jahangir. He was a member of the Seven Star group. He studied at a madrassah for some time and so earned his 'Mollah' nickname. When the movement against Golam Azam had reached a peak in Bangladesh, Mollah Masud had reportedly been given an assignment to assassinate the Jamaat leader. But Mollah disappeared into thin air. Ironically, after a brief period he himself was seen following Golam Azam around as his bodyguard! Then he went underground once again, becoming one of the top terrorists of the country.

Dhaka's 'top terrors'
Dhaka's 'top terrors' involved in abduction, ransom and extortion include Sweden Aslam, Subrata Bain, Kala Jahangir, Mollah Masud, Imon, Titon, Prakash, Bikash, Arman, Pichchi Helal, Joseph, Kamal Pasha, Leather Liton, Junior Hannan, Senior Hannan, Liaqat Hossain, Tanvirul Islam Joy, Mukul, Manik, Mamun, Lengra Tajgir, Killer Abbas, Tokai Sagar, '[moderated]' Selim, Rasu, Imam, Dipu Chowdhury, Harris, Aga Shamim, Kala Khokan, Tutul, Munna, Ashiq Abdullah and others.

Though he is in India at the moment, Mollah Masud hasn't set up permanent residence anywhere. One day he is in Kolkata another in Nadia. Last year he married a girl from a poor family in Nadia. Many of Dhaka's top terrors attended the extravagant wedding. Masud and Subrata are close to each other, but they never live in the same house together. Subrata finds it safer to stay separate. Wherever he goes, Masud rents a flat and stays there. Masud loves his adda, drinks like a fish and stays up late watching TV. He used to cook for himself, but now his wife does the job.

Joy's tale
Tanvirul Islam Joy is the most stylish of the terrors, enjoying the high life to the full. Protected by agency benefactors there, he lives a life of sheer glitz and glamour. He has a flat at Goriahat and has two chauffeur-driven vehicles -- a sky blue Mahendra jeep and a Suzuki Zen. He uses one and the other is for his wife and two daughters. His elder daughter is 15 and younger seven. Both study at Kolkata. Joy's earnings come from his dealings with the diamond smuggling network in Kolkata. He is also in close contact with Dhaka's gold smugglers. His favourite hangouts are at Kolkata New Market and Trinker's Bar near Park Hotel. He hardly ever comes to Dhaka.

Joy has a good family background and would live in Dhaka's Kalabagan area. After completing studies in India, he had gone off to the US. He made a lot of money through his business dealings there. When Sheikh Hasina would visit America, he would give her his limousine to use. During Awami League's rule, he returned to Bangladesh and came closer to Awami League. At the same time he began dabbling in the crime world. Joy then married his maternal uncle's wife. His aunt/wife was close to Sheikh Hasina and through her Joy got to know the Awami League chief. Joy had the same birthday as Hasina's own son Joy and so Hasina would often introduce him as her son. Joy didn't lose the opportunity to cash in on this and at various places would introduce himself as Hasina's son. Joy is more known in Dhaka as an extortionist rather than a killer. He is 5 ft 7 in tall, fair in complexion and remains rather aloof from the other Bangladesh criminals there. Close to where Joy lives in Goriahat, lives Shamim Osman's cadre Aga Mithu, a 'terror' of Narayanganj.

Sources reveal that the three disreputable sons of former Chief Whip Abul Hasnat Abdullah live with a distant aunt in Kolkata now. They spend most of their time playing snooker at their hangout near Jamuna cinema hall in Marquis Street. Ashiq Abdullah occasionally comes to Dhaka.

About Subrata Bain

Subrata Bain comes from a very poor family of Barisal. He would live with his parents in Maghbazar, Dhaka. His mother was a school teacher. JSD Chhatra League's Murad was killed by the Subrata Bahini in a feud over a stall at the Bishal Centre in Maghbazar. This was Subrata's first murder, the last being the killing of Murgi Milon. Subrata has been staying in West Bengal since the period of the last caretaker government. He was first at Teghria, then Dumdum and then at Thakurpukur. He is now at Kolkata. He comes often to Dhaka, his last visit being in June. Investigations reveal that during Awami League's rule while Subrata was in jail, his wife joined hands with Tikkapara's terrorist Ashiq and planned to kill Subrata. Subrata divorced his wife upon his release from jail. He has a son and a daughter from this wife. His daughter is 14 and son, who is mute, is 12 years old. Subrata has an eighteen-month-old baby girl with his second wife. His daughter from his first marriage lives with Subrata's mother in Maghbazar. The son lives in Kolkata with him.

'Most wanted' 23 top terrors'

The list of criminals drawn up during Awami League's time were alleged to be mostly pro-BNP elements. This list was followed during the caretaker rule of Justice Latifur Rahman and even during the present rule, that list was used to shortlist 23 of the 'most wanted' top terrorists. So there are not many pro-Awami League criminals in this list. These most wanted terrors include Subrata Bain, Mollah Masud, Lengra Tajgir, Joy, Ashiq Abdullah, Kala Jahangir, Aga Shamim, Imam, Rasu, Tokai Sagar, Killer Abbas, Alauddin (killed), Liaqat Hossain, Pichchi Hannan (killed), Junior Hannan, Kamal Pasha, Prakash, Bikash, Pichchi Helal, Harris, Joseph and others.

While in jail, Subrata would converse at length with an African Muslim inmate. He converted to Islam and took the name of Fateh Ali. Since then Subrata prayers regularly and fasts every Friday. He always carries a tasbih (prayer beads) with him. Over 40 years of age now, Subrata never stays at one place for very long. he has at least eight to ten different shelters in Kolkata. He spends one night in a clinic, another night at a rail station and so on. He even dons a disguise at times. When in Dhaka, he goes around on a rickshaw van, adept at evading the police. He regularly is in contact with Dhaka over the phone and makes about 50 to 60 lac taka a month over here. This is mostly through commissions and extortion. He has about a hundred paid workers in Dhaka. They are paid from 10 thousand to 30 thousand taka a month each.

Concerning the source of income for the King of the Underworld, Subrata Bain, it is said that when Kolkata's smugglers and hundi dealers need muscle to extract payment from their debtors in Dhaka, they turn to Subrata. He picks up the phone and issues instructions to his Dhaka minions. His minions carry out the work, send the money through underhand channels to Dhaka and Subrata skims off a handsome commission. In the same manner, Dhaka's businessmen collect their dues from Kolkata through Subrata.
Where are the top terrors?'

The top terrors of the city who are presently in jail are Haris, Sweden Aslam, Titon, Bikash, Pichchi Helal, Joseph, Kamal Pasha, Leather Liton, Liaqat Hossain, Mamun, Killer Abbas, Khorshed Alam and Rasu. The fugitives within the country are Dipu Chowdhury, Imon, Junior Hannan, Manik and Imam. Tokai Sagar and '[moderated]' Selim are in the US, In India are Subrata Bain, Tanvirul Joy, Lengra Tajgir, Mollah Masud, Kala Jahangir, Aga Shamim, Tutul, Mukul, Prakash, Ashiq Abdullah and his two brothers. Terrors Alauddin and Kala Faruk were killed by the police while Pichchi Hannan was killed in RAB crossfire. Top terror Senior Hannan presently runs a business at Eastern Plaza. Subrata has bought a 50-bigha plot of land in Nadia where he has made a pond and has a fish farm. Mollah Masud is in charge of this presently.

According to the apprehended Armaan, an Indian intelligence agency had first given Subrata the assignment to carry out the August 21 grenade attack. Then Joy carried out the August operation through his associate Mukul. It is alleged that Subrata has strong sources among Dhaka's law enforcers, enabling to dodge the authorities easily and visit Dhaka quite safely.

About the Seven Star group

During the Awami League rule, the Seven Star group came into being, concentrating on the gold smuggling business at the airport. The airport is mostly used to smuggle in gold and various criminal rings are used to transport the gold to various spots. At one time Tokai Sagar, Murgi Milon and '[moderated]' Selim would run this business. Later this was taken over by Liaqat Hossain, Senior Hannan and Auranga. The Seven Star group emerged as their rivals. Members of this group were Subrata, Joy, Tokai Sagar, Mollah Masud, Tikka, '[moderated]' Selim and Chanchal (who was later killed by the Pichchi Hannan group). During Awami League's rule, the Seven Star group was the most organised and daring terror group around. Murgi Milan was killed over internal feuds and power struggle.

Seven Star's internal feuding began towards the end of the Awami League rule. Subrata would go on any operation himself. He would carry out most of the operations over telephone. Tikka, Mollah Masud and Chanchal would be out at the front. But Subrata would get the lion's share of the commission as well as credit for the operation's success. This irked Joy who took up separate operations with Tikka, making money and procuring arms through extortion, mugging and other criminal activities. Thus a separate Seven Star faction was formed. During the last caretaker government, quarters within the group began eyeing Subrata as close to BNP and so the internal conflict grew. The seven terrors of the group began operating individually, drawing an end to the Seven Stars. However, no killings took place among the group members themselves.

At the same time the Five Star group was formed by Old Dhaka's terrorist Aga Shamim over the control of Dhaka City Corporation contracts. It is now more or less inert. Aga Shamim is one of the listed 23 most wanted terrorists of the country.

Paritosh Paul writes from Kolkata:

An eight-member police team headed by Additional Inspector General of Bangladesh Police, Shahidullah Khan, arrived in Kolkata on an undisclosed mission on June 21, 2005. Officially they have come to gain experience in improving the effectiveness of the Bangladesh police force and to get training tips from the West Bengal police. They stayed at Kolkata for three days only. The composition of the team was very interesting -- Khuda Buksh Chowdhry, DG, Passport and Immigration; Khan Syed Hasan, Commissioner of Khulna Metropolitan Police; Yasmeen Kafar, Special Inspector of Police, Special Branch and four others. They met Prasun Mukherjee, Commissioner of Kolkata Police and others. During discussions, the Bangladesh police officials mentioned that Kolkata and its adjoining areas had become the home of many dreaded Bangladeshi criminals. Bangladesh police also informed their counterparts that whenever there is any special drive to nab the criminals, they come to Kolkata and take shelter in the area near the border or district towns.
'Most wanted' 23 top terrors'

While most of the crime 'connoisseurs' have fixed territories with an unspoken 'honor among thieves' code - not infringing upon each others' strong holds, some criminals don't bother about such finer points and do as they please, where they please. In general, the top terrors have their respective territories as thus:

Subrata Bain Nayatola, Maghbazar
JoyKalabagan, Green Road, Panthapath, Sobhanbagh and certain
Sweden AslamFarmgate, New DOHS, Rajabazar, Testuribazar, Kawran Bazar
BikashMirpur
JosephMohammedpur
Pichchi HelalMohammedpur
Pichchi Hannan (killed)Kathalbagan, Kawran Bazar, Hatirpool, Elephant Road
Leather Liton and Titon Hazaribagh, Rayerbazar, Jhigatola
Khurshed Alam RasuSiddeshwari
ImonDhanmondi, Rayerbazar, Mohammedpur
Killer AbbasMirpur
Kala JahangirMirpur, Cantonment
Commissioner Shahadat (killed) Jurain, Postgola, Gandaria (Kala Jahangir killed Commissioner Shahadat for Shahid Commissioner. With Shahid Commissioner in jail, Kala Jahangir took charge of Jurain, Postgola and Gandaria)
Aga ShamimOld Dhaka
Liaqat, HannanEskaton, Mouchak, Maghbazar, Bangla Motor

A few days ago an English daily of Kolkata reported, quoting a source, that a top criminal, Prakash, has been staying in Kolkata since 1997. The newspaper also reported that Shahidur Rahman, another most wanted criminal of Dhaka, led an easy life for almost 20 years before the Kolkata police recently arrested him. He opened a travel agency, married twice and now even owns a house in Kolkata. Quoting the source, the newspaper wrote that Shubhro, heading the Seven Star group, a terrorist organisation in Bangladesh, has holed up in Kolkata.
Internal feuds'

The criminals invariably feud among themselves over extortion money, territories, power, sharing the spoils, etc. There is no trust among themselves and most have bodyguards on vigil round the clock. Top terrors Subrata and Joy face enmity from Liaqat and the crime guru Auranga. Subrata has conflict with Imon and Kala Jahangir as well. Sweden Aslam's sworn enemies are Liaqat, Auranga and the Hannan group. Imon, Titon and Ashiq Abdullah are united in crime and have no conflict among each other. In fact, they are related to each other, Imon having married Titon's sister and Ashiq Abdullah having married Imon's sister. However, Ashiq recently has divorced his wife.

http://www.probenewsmagazine.com/index.php...=2&contentId=56

 

[akzaman]

INSIDE RAW - THE SECRETS OF INDIA'S PREMIER INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

Gp Capt SM HALI (retired PAF officer) examines the historical capacity of Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) of India to conduct clandestine operations

Introduction
Espionage, euphemistically called the second oldest profession of the world finds a mention in the Indian Vedas, one of the most - if not the most - ancient of the human texts. References to espionage are also discernible in the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, Greece and China. The Chinese sage Sun Tzu is considered by European scholars to be the first to study and analyse the whole question of espionage on scientific lines, and to set it down in a text book Ping Fa, The Art of War. This view is, however, not substantiated by cogent facts since there is ample proof of the greater antiquity and soundness of the system of Secret Services enunciated by the early Indians.

Varuna, one of the chief gods of the Vedic pantheon is considered to be a forerunner of Secret Services. Magha, one of the most erudite and lucid poets and pragmatic thinkers, unequivocally asserted that statecraft cannot exist without the assistance of espionage. He writes:-'The statecraft in which even a single step is not taken in contravention of the science of dandaniti {( i.e. the law of danda (the rod)} which provides decent living (to the officers) and in which liberal grants are given in recognition of services rendered, does not shine to advantage without (the employment of ) spies, just as the science of grammar does not shine without Papasa Bhasya (the introductory portion of Patanjali's Mahabhasya), though it is provided with Nyasa (a commentary of that name) which strictly follows the words of the Sutras (of Panini), a good vrtti (explanatory work) and an excellent Bhasya (advance work of explanation, discussion and criticism)'.- (Sisupala - vadha, 2.112)

Secret Agencies in ancient India were not conceived of as an instrument of oppression but as a tool of governance. Secret agents were considered as 'eyes of the king'.Indian history illustrates that ancient Indians had gained great expertise in this secret art. The techniques and operational methods adopted by them were highly advanced, and can be usefully emulated today. From the spasas of Varuna, the fore-runners of the modern globe-trotting spies (the etymological affinity of the two terms is noticeable) to Chanakya's final manifestation of this art in the Arthasastra which is in fact a systematic codification of a wide variety of scattered information copiously found in the Epics, - the Mahabharata and the Ramayana - the Puranas and literary works of Bhasa, Kalidasa, Magha and Bana; and the Tamil Sangam literature, transcends unprecedented heights in this discipline.

The vision of the Arthashastra, is truly breath taking, its practical utility timeless and the clarity of its exposition unique. The techniques of manipulating public opinion and creating disinformation, propounded by Chanakya anticipated modern intelligence systems by several centuries. No wonder then that the nearly 2500 years old lessons in deceit, guile, hypocrisy, machination, and gore taught by that Master strategist, Chanakya alias Kautilya (literally meaning 'crooked') was adopted in toto by India and its chief intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). While laying the foundation stone of RAW, India's late Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi approvingly quoted Louis F Hallis, when she said that its objectives should be the 'Ability to get what one wants by whatever means: eloquence, reasoned arguments, bluff, tirade, threat or coercion, as well as, by arousing pity, annoying others, or making them uneasy'.

RAW is basically a Secret Service established to perform clandestine operations based on the Chanakyan principles of deceit and guile. It has successfully destabilised neighbouring countries, disintegrated independent states and backed the most notorious guerrilla organizations to achieve its ends. If it is compared to other intelligence agencies of the region, it emerges as an aggressive, cold-blooded and ruthless institution, engaged in the most macabre deeds.

The organization and structure of RAW will be discussed in the second part of this paper. But to appreciate its working we must, first examine the origin and organization of India's ancient secret agencies.Origin and Organization of Secret Agencies in Ancient IndiaThe origin and development of Secret Agencies in ancient India is linked to the geopolitical conditions of the times when India was dotted with small states attempting to grab each other's territory and wealth. The art of espionage was thoroughly mastered, and almost all ancient Indian literary sources exhaustively dealt with this system. Spying came to be regarded as an indispensable feature and integral part of an efficient administration and of a sound foreign policy. It kept the rulers posted with the activities, afflictions, and operations of political adversaries: their disloyal and disgruntled elements, fifth columnists and foreign agents in their midst, also the strength and intentions of all foreign power.
Espionage was considered to be as important an institution as diplomacy, and was sought to be governed by certain definite rules and usages. In Chanakya, the secret service department became a permanent feature of the state and was organised in the most 'uninhibited manner'.While Chanakya presents a highly developed and complicated system of governance including an all-pervasive espionage system, references to it are found in pre-Mauryan literature, too. The Mahabharata refers to a mythological tradition on the origin of the dandaniti and the art of espionage, which was handed down from the past. It expounds 'Brahma, the creator, himself composed a work comprising 1,00,000 chapters relating to dharma (religion), artha (economy), kama (sexual desire) and moksa (spiritual salvation) - the four aspects of life.' Brahma's compilation, according to the Great Epic, included subjects of behaviour towards counsellors, of spies, the indication of princes, of secret agents possessed of diverse means, of envoys, and agents of other kinds, conciliation, fomenting discord, gifts and chastisement; deliberations including counsels for producing disunion; the three kinds of victory, first, that which served righteously, secondly, which was won by wealth, and, thirdly, the one obtained by deceitful ways; chastisement of two kinds, namely, open and secret; the disorder created in the hostile troops; inspiring the enemy with fear; the means of winning over persons residing in the enemy territory; and finally, the chastisement and destruction of those that are strong.'

No other civilization can claim such an antiquity for the techniques of war, diplomacy, intrigue and espionage and on such compulsive terms.In short, Varuna and other deities of the Vedic pantheon heavily depended on their secret agents. Manu, Kamandaka, Yajnavalkya and Chanakya, besides the later digest writers, deliberated on the art of espionage, while Chanakya perfected the art and recommended the organisation of secret agencies in the most unabashed manner. Professor Ghoshal suggests that the Mauryas followed the Arthasastra tradition in four respects, i.e. precautions in recruiting spies, countrywide espionage, safeguards against false reports by secret agents and enlistment of the services of loose women.

Organization
The modest origin of secret agents in the form of Varuna's spasas brought about the imperative need for effective and vigorous espionage in an institutionalized form. The blue-print on espionage prepared by Chanakya has remained a model for successive generations. Various aspects of the organization of a secret agency as discussed in complete detail in the Arthasastra are briefly touched upon here.

Category of Agents.
The Arthasastra mentions two wings of 'secret service', viz. 'samstha' and 'sancara'. The agents belonging to 'samstha' were stationed in the Establishment financed by the State, whereas the 'sancaras' moved from place to place depending on professional requirements. The spymasters of the two wings headed their respective cadre of agents, and controlled their operations. The members of one group were not aware of the existence of the other. This classification of Chanakya has been followed in India throughout the successive centuries.

* Recruitment of Secret Agents. A study of Arthasastra, the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, the Manusmriti, Kamandaka and Sukra reveals that there was no fixed source of recruitment of secret agents. Modern intelligence services generally resort to three main sources of recruitment, the academic world, the armed services and the under-world. This was also the pattern followed in ancient India.

* Training. After recruitment, the secret agents were put through a rigorous training in the techniques of adopting disguises, changing appearances, science of signalling, secret writing, detection and identification of criminals, manipulating public opinion and creating dissensions in the enemy ranks.

* Control and Supervision. The complicated, comprehensive, all-pervasive and ubiquitous institution of spies in ancient India necessitated very close and personal supervision of the ruler or his most reliable officers. It must have been difficult for the king to personally handle the comprehensive and complicated department of intelligence. According to the Arthasastra, the department of external affairs, which was covering military intelligence was managed by the king with the help of his foreign minister and the Commander-in-Chief. The agents detailed to cover the senior officers of the central government certainly reported to the king directly. In the far-flung areas of extensive kingdoms and in view of poor means of communication, the action specially in times of war had to be taken by men on the spot and not by the king who may be at a place far distant from the field of action. In foreign countries the spies were kept under the control and supervision of ambassadors who scrutinised their reports and directed intelligence operations. According to Chanakya, the institution of spies as an organization did not function under a unified command. The spies and secret agents worked under their respective heads of department, and also directly under the king.

Techniques of Espionage
Before discussing the working of RAW, it would be worthwhile to briefly examine some of the techniques of espionage employed by the ancient secret agencies of India.

* Motivation and Recruitment of Sources. Motivation of persons to cater intelligence is directly proportionate to their weakness for sex and money, besides the burning desire of revenge or insatiable hunger for power. The Spymasters of ancient India exploited these weaknesses to their fullest advantage, and even the modern intelligence agencies heavily depend on these considerations. Chanakya advocated that the weak should be subjugated by means of conciliation and gifts, the strong by means of dissension and force.

* Selection and Infiltration of Targets. Chanakya, in a very subtle manner and with an intimate knowledge of human psychology, selected his targets in foreign lands depending on their weaknesses and motivation. He advised secret agents to concentrate on targets:-

* Among those who are dissatisfied with the rulers or had been humiliated or exiled;

* Who have not been compensated for their expenditure;

* Those who have been deprived of their rightful inheritance to office;

* Whose women have been molested by force;

* Who were wrongly imprisoned;

* Whose property had been confiscated;

* Who are prone to blackmail due to some weakness;

Double-Agent Operation. A 'Double-Agent' is a spy who works for the opposition while pretending loyalty to those who employ him. this technique is an indispensable facet of agent-running and was extensively practised in ancient India. Chanakya suggested that secret agents should not refuse pay from the targets for working with them as their employees. This was to allay the misgivings on the part of the targets. 'Double-Agents' were used for creating dissensions and confusion among the confederates of the enemy. They floated false documents, got them seized from the possession of the enemy's army chiefs, and thus weakened the enemy. 'Double-Agents' were used to winning over the confidence of their adopted masters by sacrificing a few exposed, treacherous, disaffected or inefficient spies.

* Payment of Sources Encouragement of secret agents with money and honour was considered an imperative necessity. The sources were paid both in cash and kind, besides receiving extraordinary courtesies and favours. It was also recommended that secret agents not only be rewarded for the job done by them but, also, in the event of repeated mistakes, silent punishment-death-be awarded to them.

* Communication of Intelligence Intelligence not properly and promptly conveyed and which cannot be acted upon loses its value and validity. Besides this, the Arthasastra, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Kamandaka and Kathasaritasagara all recommend the use of coded language and signals.

* Interception of Mail Interception of messages, signals and letters by postal censorship; monitoring and tapping telephones; and breaking codes is the standard practice of modern intelligence agencies. In the ancient period, since intelligence was communicated through pre-determined signals and with the assistance of pigeons, secret agents must have made elaborate arrangements to intercept these messages.

* Assessment of Information. The Arthasastra cautions against the placing of reliance on agents without proper corroboration. It is repeatedly emphasised that all aspects of a report must be gone through, including the source of information, the mode of its collection and the past performance of a source before it is accepted. Briefing and debriefing of secret agents was an elaborate exercise, and they were trained to be precise, accurate and truthful in reporting.

* Working under 'Cover'. The institution of espionage in ancient India, like modern times, required secret agents to work under some kind of 'cover' to preserve secrecy. Chanakya institutionalized the art of working under the most ingenious 'covers'. The most common disguises recommended by him were those of ascetic, mendicant, merchant, artisan, wandering minstrel, artiste, cook, barber and shampooer, bath and toilet attendant, deaf, ****, eunuch and prostitute. Chanakya recommends the use of women as effective tools of espionage particularly those who were engaged in harlotry.

* Counter-Intelligence. A counter-intelligence operation is directed at discovering the identities and methods of foreign spies and intelligence officers working for the opposition. One of the most important duties of the Secret Service in ancient India was to counteract the activities of such agents operating within the country. Chanakya recommends that secret agents should discover foreign spies by operating at the places of entertainment, conclaves of people, among beggars, in gardens and public places, and the houses of prominent citizens.

Disinformation and Dissension.
Manipulation of public opinion is as important an object of the State today as it was in ancient India. It is used to create disharmony and distrust among the enemy's friends, ill-will among his allies, loss of confidence in their leadership and disruption by psychological means his capacity and will to fight. Chanakya had perfected the technique of disinformation and highly eulogised the use of dissension in enemy's ranks for winning a battle without any military action. His winning an extensive empire for his student Chandragupta Maurya without fighting any mentionable battle is awe, and one may be excused to add: admiration, inspiring feat, unparalleled in history. The Sanskrit Classical drama Mudrakshasa has tried to depict it dramatically but, at best, has only partially succeeded.

Sabotage.
The technique of sabotage, which the political strategists consider as the penultimate means to vanquish an adversary, had been greatly perfected in ancient India. Secret practices for sabotage were advocated by Chanakya to ensure victory. As a preface to sabotage, he suggests the creation of an atmosphere congenial to arousing terror, fear, demoralization, disappointment and loss of confidence among the enemy ranks. Prior to launching a full-scale assault on the enemy fort, Chanakya suggests implementation of secret measures to weaken its defences not only physically but in all respects. These include prevention of sowing the fields, destruction of the standing crops and cutting of the enemy's supply lines.He also advises free and uninhibited use of poison in the articles used by the enemy. His detailed and scientifically valid knowledge of the subject has earned for him a place in Arabic medical literature, that knows him as Ibn Shanaq (son of Chanak). Some of the secret stratagems advocated by Chanakya include the use of smoke with properties seriously affecting the vision, and, arson or setting fires within the enemy fort.

The employment of Visakanyas (Poison-damsels).
Secret Agencies in ancient India had perfected very ingenious techniques to subserve the interests of their monarchs. Besides using the nascent technological advancement available to them, they exploited human weakness for sex to achieve royal objectives. Visakanya is a unique feature of the Indian genius to poison the monarch. These venomous beauties can be classified, as follows:-

* A damsel whose body is saturated with gradual doses of poison, and who is likely to transmit poison from her body to another person coming in contact with her;

* A woman who treacherously captivates the heart of a person, and then mixes poison in his food or drink;

* A girl who is, one way or the other, so much poisoned or infected with disease that she is likely to convey her poison or disease to the person coming in contact with her. A woman suffering from Venereal disease or, in the latest situation one suffering from Aids is a Visakanya of this kind.

RAW AT WAR-II
What is not possible by deployment of force is possible by the use of stratagem.The black cobra was defeated by the stratagem of the crow and the golden chain.-- Chanakya

Introduction
The first part of this article briefly traced out the history of secret services in ancient India. Its chief progenitor was Chanakya, whose classic, the Arthasastra, not only provides a fairly graphic account of the activities of spies in the Mauryan and post-Mauryan polity but lays the foundation for the 'statecraft', guile and unscrupulous practices advocated by this master strategist.He goes on to recommend, 'In the work of espionage, all methods are admissible Ñ snooping, lying, bribing, poisoning, using women's wiles and the assassin's knife. To a weak king menaced by strong neighbours, Chanakya's advice was to rely chiefly on spies and wage what he described as a 'battle of intrigues' (mantra yuddha) and 'secret wars' (kuta yuddha). The spies, in order to achieve their objective, were to practice all kinds of fraud, artifice incendiarism and robbery. Their objective was to demoralize the enemy's troops by circulating false news, and seduce the allegiance of his minister and commanders. The underlying idea seems to have been to keep the strong neighbour preoccupied with domestic troubles thus making it impossible for him to launch a foreign expedition. From the days of Chanakya, the rules of business of espionage have not changed, at least the basic principles remain as before. The development of science and technology has only given fresh impetus and tools to the art of spying.

Evolution of RAW
Origins in the Directorate of Intelligence Bureau, created by the Raj in November 1920 during the Khilafat and Swaraj movements Ñ out of the old Criminal Intelligence Department (CID). In 1933, sensing the political turmoil in the world which eventually led to the Second World War, the bureau's responsibilities were increased to include the collection of intelligence along India's borders. In 1947, after Independence, Sanjeevi Pillai took over as the first Indian Director. Having been depleted of trained manpower by the exit of the British and Muslims, Pillai tried to run the bureau along MI 5 lines.

Although in 1949, Pillai organized a small foreign intelligence set-up, the inefficacy of it was proved by the Indian debacle in the Indo-China War of 1962, and the cry of 'not enough intelligence available', was taken up by the Indian Chief of Army Staff, General Chaudhry, after the 1965 Indo-Pak war.It was towards the end of 1966 and the beginning of 1967 that the concept of a separate foreign intelligence agency began to take concrete shape. In 1968, after Indira Gandhi had taken over, it was decided that a full-fledged second security service was needed. R. N. Kao, then a deputy director of IB, submitted a blueprint for the new agency. Kao was appointed as the chief of India's first foreign intelligence agency named as 'the Research and Analysis Wing' or RAW.

RAW takes shape
Having started humbly as a Wing of the main Intelligence Bureau with 250 personnel and an annual budget of Rs 2 crore (by a rough estimate), in the early seventies, its annual budget had risen to Rs 30 crores while its personnel numbered several thousand. In 1971, Kao had persuaded the government to set up the Aviation Research Centre (ARC). The ARC's job was aerial reconnaissance. It replaced the Indian Air Force's old reconnaissance aircraft and by the mid-70s, RAW, through the ARC, had high quality aerial pictures of the installations along the Chinese and Pakistani borders. By 1976, Kao had been promoted to the rank of a fullfledged Secretary responsible for Security and reporting directly to the Prime Minister. His rise had raised RAW to become India's premier intelligence agency. RAW agents operated in virtually every major embassy and high commission.

RAW's objectives
The objectives of RAW according to Asoka Raina's famous book Inside RAW (Vikas Publishing House, New Delhi, 1981) have been:-

* To monitor the political and military developments in all the adjoining countries, which have, direct bearing on India's national security and in the formulation of its foreign policy.

* Secondly, RAW watched the development of international communism and the schism between the two communist giants, the Soviet Union and The Republic of China. For as in other countries both the powers had direct access to the Communist Parties in India.

* Thirdly, the supply of military hardware to Pakistan mostly from European countries, the USA and China, was of high priority. And last but not the least, the presence of a large ethnic Indian population in foreign countries, provided a powerful lobby. These countries could back a favourable policy in international councils, motivated by the ethnic Indian group.

The Organization
RAW has been organized on the lines of the CIA. The following chart (source: Inside RAW by Asoka Raina) signifies the organization of RAW and is self-explanatory.

Training of RAW Agents
Recruitment: Initially, induction in RAW relied primarily on trained intelligence officers who were recruited directly. These belonged to the external wing of IB. However, quite a few were taken from police and other services to fill the cadres of RAW owing to its sudden expansion. Later RAW began recruiting promising fresh graduates from the Universities directly. The criteria for selection are fairly stringent.

Basic Training: Basic training commences with 'pep talks' to boost the morale of the new recruit. This is a ten days' phase in which the fresh inductee is familiarized with the world of intelligence and espionage and alienated from the spies of fiction. Common usages, technical jargon and classification of information are taught. Case studies of other agencies like CIA, KGB, Chinese Secret Agency and ISI are presented for study. He is also taught that an intelligence organisation does not basically identify a friend from a foe, it is the country's foreign policy that do.Phase - II: The fresh recruit's training continues and he is now posted in some remote outpost, attached to a Field Intelligence Bureau (FIB). His training here lasts for a period of six months to a year. He is given a first hand feeling of what it was to be out in the cold, in the danger area conducting clandestine operation. During night exercises, under conditions of absolute realism, he is taught infiltration and exfiltration. He is instructed to avoid capture and if caught, how to face intensive interrogation; the art of reconnoiter, making contacts, and, the numerous skills of operating an intelligence mission. At the end of the field training, the new recruit is brought back to the School for final polishing. Before his deployment in the field, he is given exhaustive training in the art of self-defence, an introduction to martial arts and the use of technical espionage devices. He is also drilled in various administrative disciplines so that he could take his place in the foreign missions without arousing suspicion. He is now ready to operate under the cover of an Embassy to gather information, set up his own network of informers, moles or operatives as the task may require.

Functions of RAW
The functions of RAW vary according to the target. Some functions for obtaining strategic intelligence are outlined below:-

Collection of Information: Emphasis is laid on obtaining information essential to Indian interests. Both overt and covert means are adopted.The vast myriad of data is sifted through, classified and filed. The modern computer network in the 13-storey bombproof building situated at Lodhi Road, New Delhi, is a great help.

Aggressive Intelligence: The primary mission of RAW includes aggressive intelligence which comprise espionage, psychological warfare, subversion, sabotage, terrorism and creating dissension, insurgency and, ultimately, insurrection to destabilize the target country.

Modus Operandi: Foreign Missions: Foreign Missions provide an ideal cover and RAW centres in a target country are generally located inside the Embassy premises.

Multinationals: RAW operatives find good covers in Multinational organizations. NGOs and Cultural programmes are also popular screens to shield RAW activities.

Media: International media centres can easily absorb RAW operatives and provide freedom of movement.

Collaboration with other agencies: RAW maintains active collaboration with other secret services to meet its ends in a particular target country. Its contacts with KGB of the former Soviet Union, KHAD, the erstwhile Afghan agency, Mossad, CIA and MI6 have been well-known. A common interest being
Pakistan's Nuclear Programme: Third Country Technique: RAW has been very active in obtaining information and operating through third countries like the Middle East, Afghanistan, UK, Hong Kong, Mayanmar and Singapore. Spotting and Recruitment: RAW operatives are on the lookout for local recruits to serve their ends. Acting on the Chanakyan principles, they tend to exploit human weaknesses for wine, women and wealth, and, at times resort to blackmail. Separatist tendencies and ethnic or sectarian sensitivities are also well-known grounds for manipulation. Armed Forces personnel remain a primary target. Those journalists, intellectuals and politicians harbouring and preaching goodwill and better Indo-Pak relations also make suitable targets for inadvertent and unconscious recruitment by RAW agents.

Major successes of RAW:
Creation of Bangladesh: The Bangladesh operation, beginning with sowing seeds of dissension, leading to the Agartala Conspiracy, creation of Mukti Bahini and under its cover sneaking into East Pakistan for guerrilla operations to blow up bridges and other installations damaged the morale of Pakistani troops and India won the war even before the battle began, thanks to RAW as its agents had infiltrated every nook and corner of erstwhile East Pakistan. The paragraph entitled: 'RAW takes shape', in the initial part of this article, amply demonstrates the causal chain of events.

Plan to assassinate General Zia-ur-Rahman: According to the September 18-24, 1988 issue of the weekly Magazine Sunday (Calcutta), RAW was on the verge of assassinating Bangladesh's President General Zia-ur-Rahman (with Mrs Gandhi's approval) when the Congress government fell. RAW briefed the new Prime Minister Morarji Desai about it who was appalled at the idea and stopped the murder. General Zia continued to rule Bangladesh for many more years. He was assassinated after Indira Gandhi returned to power but RAW pleads innocence.

Project Poornima: It was the name given India's Nuclear Programme. The task to keep it 'under tight wraps of security' was given to RAW. This was the first time that RAW was involved in a project inside India. The rest is history as India managed to surprise the world on 18 May, 1974 by detonating a 15-Kiloton plutonium device at Pokharan.

Kahuta's Blueprint: According to the September 18-24, 1988 issue of the weekly Indian Magazine Sunday, RAW agents claim that in early 1978, they were on the verge of obtaining the plans and blueprint for Kahuta nuclear plant that was built to counter the Pokharan atomic blast, but the then Indian Prime Minister Morarji Desai not only refused to sanction the $ 10,000 demanded by the RAW agent, but informed Pakistan of the offer. According to the report, Pakistanis caught and eliminated the RAW mole.It must be noted that the author of 'Ham Jang Nahin Hone Denge' held the external affairs portfolio at that time.

Sikkim: Encircled by Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan and West Bengal in the Eastern Himalayas, Sikkim presented a lucrative target to the Indians. It was ruled by a Maharaja. The Indian Government had recognized the title of Chogyal (Dharma Raja) for the Mahraja of Sikkim. After their kill in East Pakistan, in 1972, RAW was given the green signal to go ahead with the operation of installing a pro-Indian democratic government there. In less than three years, with the manipulation of RAW, Sikkim became the 22nd State of the Indian Union on April 26, 1975.

Maldives: To bring the smaller Independent States/countries in the Indian sphere of influence with the use of RAW, the case of Maldives makes an important example. In November 1988, the Eilam Peoples' Liberation Front comprising about 200 Tamil secessionists on the pay roll of RAW were tasked to stage the drama of an uprising on that peaceful island. At the request of the President of Maldives, Mr Mamoon Abdul Qayyum, Indian Armed Forces 'quelled' the insurgency engineered by themselves and thus tried to sneak into the administrative mechanism of that peace-loving country.

Operation Chanakya: This was the codename given to the RAW operation in Occupied Kashmir to create rifts among the various Kashmiri Mujahideen groups, suppress the uprising and bring the Kashmiris under total Indian subjugation. According to Tariq Ismail Sagar's book RAW, (Milli Book Depot, Lahore, 1997) in 1991, RAW operatives entered the Srinagar Valley in the guise of freedom fighters. They resorted to loot, rape and arson of Kashmiri Pundit families to give the popular non-communal uprising a bad name. Operation Chanakya gained momentum when Mossad provided its experienced Katsas to train RAW operatives. They did gain initial successes but when later actions of Operations Chanakya failed, RAW commenced an intensive propaganda to blame ISI.

Monitoring Pakistani Telecommunication: Raw operatives boast that at one time its monitoring complex had managed to break through Pakistani Telecommunications and were listening in to all telephonic conversations held by important Pakistani leaders.

RAW's Failures
Although RAW has had many successes, it has also committed a number of blunders. Some of these are discussed below:

Promulgation of Emergency: Whereas the IB Director, A. Jayaram had advised Mrs Indira Gandhi against promulgating the Emergency, Kao, Mrs Gandhi's handpicked man and RAW's head, supported it. This proved to be a fatal mistake. He continued to feed the PM reports of its popularity and that no excesses were committed. How disastrous it proved for Kao's benefactor is a matter of history.

Operation Blue Star: This was the codename given to the storming of the holiest Sikh shrine, the Golden Temple of Amritsar in 1984. Although it was a domestic matter and IB's concern, yet RAW was pulled in under the pretext of a foreign element's (allegedly Pakistani) involvement. RAW failed miserably as it could not assess the strength of Bhindranwale's forces. What was to be a 5 hours' operation stretched to 5 days and tanks had to be brought in and Indian Army suffered heavy casualties. Ultimately Indira Gandhi had to pay with her own life as she was gunned down by her Sikh bodyguard in retaliation to Operation Blue Star. Kao, the Prime Minister's Security Adviser resigned within 24 hours of her assassination.

Kee us ne mere qatl ke ba'd Jafaa se tauba,
Haae! Us zood pashemaan kaa pashemaan honaa.
Ah! The remorse of the one
Who after finishing me,
Took the vow never to be cruel again.
So soon did he repent!
Bravo!

--- Ghalib
Mujib-ur-Rahman's Assassination: RAW operatives claim that they had advance information about Shaikh Mujib-ur-Rahman's assassination but they failed to prevent it. It is interesting to note that despite its role in the creation of Bangladesh, RAW failed to annex it.It was a classic case of the cropping up of a double dilemma: Yak na shud do shud.

Mauritius: Mrs Gandhi was so keen to see Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam continue as the Prime Minister of Mauritius that RAW was tasked to oversee his reelection campaign. Despite heavy investments, RAW failed by a wide margin.

Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka had been marked for special attention after it had permitted Pakistani aircraft to land for refuelling there after India had stopped the over flight rights of Pakistani flights to and back from East Pakistan. Sri Lankan President Junius Jaywardhene's aim of turning his country into an Asian Tiger did not suit India at all. Stung by its failures in the Indian Punjab, RAW attempted to make up in Sri Lanka. RAW started training militants to destabilize the Pearl Island but in the bargain, such a monster was unleashed that even the landing of Indian troops as a peacekeeping force in Sri Lanka failed badly. Eventually, Rajiv Gandhi became a victim of the muddling in Sri Lanka. RAW seems to be a congenital enemy of the Gandhi family.

Soft Target: Zuhair Kashmiri and Brian Mac Andrew's well-known book Soft Target (James Lorimer and Comp., Publishers, Toronto, 1994) provides details of RAW's botched operations in Canada to malign the Sikhs there for their role in the Khalsa movement and make them suspect in the eyes of the Canadian authorities. On 23 June, 1985 Air India's Flight 182 was blown up near Ireland and 329 innocent lives were lost. On the same day another explosion took place at Tokyo's Narita airport's transit baggage building where baggage was being transferred from Cathay Pacific Flight No CP 003 to Air India's Flight 301 which was scheduled for Bangkok. Both aircraft were loaded with explosives from Canadian airports. Flight 301 got saved because of a delay in its departure. Initially RAW was successful in pointing the finger at Canadian Sikhs but the Canadian authorities soon concluded that it was a RAW ploy.

RAW's Primary Target:
Pakistan remains RAW's primary concern. It runs thousands of agents and spends millions of rupees in its operations against Pakistan. It has made a three-pronged attack against Pakistan in an attempt to destabilise it: Propaganda, Espionage, and Subversion.
RAW is totally committed on all these three fronts and is engaged in launching covert operations in consonance with India's hostile foreign policy. The Jain Commission Report, released by India in 1997, acknowledges that RAW did sponsor the terrorist activities of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eilam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka and violent intervention in Bangladesh.

All aspects of Pakistani activities, economic, military, industrial and cultural receive a close scrutiny of RAW. It considers Sindh as the soft under-belly of Pakistan and has therefore made it the prime target for sabotage and subversion. Ashok A Biswas, a Delhi-based research scholar, in his recently compiled study RAW - An Unobstructive Instrument of India's Foreign Policy, (as quoted by Pakistan Observer in 'A RAW deal for South Asia, 03 May, 1998) states that 'the aim of RAW is to keep internal disturbances flaring up and the ISI preoccupied so that Pakistan can lend no worthwhile resistance to Indian designs in the region.' He concludes, 'RAW over the years has admirably fulfilled its task of destabilizing target states through unbridled export for terrorism. The 'Indian

Doctrine' spelt out a difficult and onerous role of RAW. It goes to its credit that it has accomplished its assigned objectives. The Indian government spelling out the task for RAW in this regard has stated, 'Pakistan should be so destabilized internally that it could not support the 'Kashmir cause even morally, diplomatically or politically'. Keeping the size of Pakistan in view, the task seems a difficult one for RAW. But it appears, RAW has taken it as a challenge and is working assiduously and speedily to accomplish this task'.

No wonder, with the wily Chanakya as its mentor and the machinations preached in his Arthasastra as their bible, RAW is well equipped to continue waging its war of propaganda, sabotage and subversion. It is for its prime target 'Pakistan' to be wary of its macabre game plan of continuing war by 'other means' and continue exposing RAW's heinous designs against us, which are a blatant, utter and naked violation of all human values. And not the least the people and the leadership of India; for as the great poet Ghalib said:

Hue tum dost jiske,
Us ka dushman asman kiyun ho

With a friend like you,
Who needs a foe!

http://defencejournal.com/feb-mar99/raw-at-war.htm

 

[akzaman]

NEPAL: INDIAN INTELLIGENCE FINDS MONARCHY STILL STRONG

A media report furnishing findings of a survey conducted by RAW
(Research and Analysis Wing-a brain child of the then Indian Prime
Minister Indira Gandhi)-India- reveals that majority of Nepalese
still prefer to adjust monarchy in the country in a way or the other.

According to the report, the Monarchy in Nepal still enjoys 45%
popular support.

However, the RAW conducted survey uncovers that 43% of population
would like to see monarchy independent of all the political
activities in the future and would prefer to see the establishment
of a republican setup.

The remaining 12% were undecided over the future of monarchy.

Similarly, 75% of the total population surveyed was still unaware of
constituent assembly polls and 52% population suspected the
performance of political parties.

The RAW which is all pervasive in Nepal and possesses various
channels is also learnt to have investigated the allegation by the
Maoists that the Royal Palace was involved in murder plot of some US
embassy officials. According to the findings of the Indian
Intelligence wing, the highly publicized allegations were found as
baseless.

http://www.telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=1173

 

[EagleEyes]

Ok buddy. Good articles.. but please post your own opinions too.

Thanks.

 

[akzaman]

Bangladeshi journalist gets LISA award on 'RAW and Bangladesh'

A Bangladeshi journalist and researcher Md. Zainal Abedin gets LISA (London Institute of South Asia) Annual Book Award this year (2007) for his book "RAW And Bangladesh", published in 1995. In a letter LISA, a London-based research organisation that stands for liberty, democracy and human rights, informed Mr. Abedin, "This award is given to a book that made a difference. That difference usually constitutes belated recognition. In your case, that is indeed so." The award will be conferred on him in London in mid-July next. Abedin have already authored nine books and hundreds of features and articles, both in Bengali and English.

'RAW And Bangladesh' perhaps is the first book research-oriented book outside India that uncovers the covert and overt ugly activities of 'RAW' (Research and Analysis Wing), the notorious intelligence agency of India, well before and after the emergence of Bangladesh in 1971.

The 270-page book detailed how RAW enters in all walks of Bangladesh society and pulls it from behind the back to grab it finally. The book also uncovered India's role in assassinating Sheikh Mujbur Rahman and Gen. Ziaur Rahman, the two popular Presidents of Bangladesh.

Abedin, a vocal critic of India's hegemonic activities in the region, entered journalism in 1972 through 'The Dainik Bangladesh'. Presently he is the editor of a Bengali weekly magazine 'Ekaler Katha.'

Some of his celebrated major books are: Ek Nadi Rakta (1971), Rajnititay Shreni Sanghat (1972), Zia Hattar Nepathya (1987), India Needs Veto Power? (1993), RAW And Bangladesh (1997), Parbatiya Chottogram Sharup Shandhan (1997), Chittagong Hill Tracts: A Victim of Indian Intervention (2003), Human Rights Violation in CHT: Myth and Reality (2005).

http://www.app.com.pk/en/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11132&Itemid=2

 

[akzaman]

Inside, RAW:For the first time, an ex-RAW officer talks about how badly it is run

On the night of June 3, 1999, a Pakistan International Airlines winged its way across to Islamabad from Delhi bearing vital evidence that would create a flutter during the Kargil war. Vivek Katju, an old MEA hand, along with the influential R.K. Mishra of the Reliance-funded Observer Research Foundation, were carrying a secret package for prime minister Nawaz Sharif from the Indian government. Their mission was approved at a meeting of the cabinet committee on security chaired by then prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and attended by his senior cabinet colleagues—home minister L.K. Advani, defence minister George Fernandes and national security advisor, Brajesh Mishra.

In the package Katju and Mishra carried was the biggest intelligence coup that India’s external intelligence agency, RAW, had ever managed to gather courtesy its technical wing—a telephone conversation between then Pakistan army chief, General Pervez Musharraf, and his chief of staff Lieutenant General Mohammed Aziz. The conversation proved beyond doubt that the Pakistani army too was actively involved in the Kargil incursions. Till then, it was being described by Islamabad as an operation being conducted independently by militants.

But was the decision to dispatch the tapes to Nawaz Sharif a wise move? Now, for the first time an insider from RAW says that it was not. Major General V.K. Singh, who served in RAW in its technical wing between 2000 and 2004, told Outlook: "You never ever reveal your source in the intelligence game. Once that was done when the tapes were handed over, the source dried up and we did not get any intelligence from this sector for the next two years. So were the brownie points that we earned from sharing the tapes with the world really worth it? In my opinion, this was a violation of the basic principles of intelligence gathering."

After the tapes were publicised, the Pakistanis came to know the technology being employed by Indians to tap into their internal communication and helped them get a fair idea of India’s secret listening posts and their capabilities. Says Singh: "The leakage was quickly plugged by the Pakistanis, leading to a virtual drought of quality intelligence for RAW."

This clever-by-half move by the NDA and other revelations are contained in Singh’s forthcoming book India’s External Intelligence: Secrets of Research and Analysis Wing. Singh is the first insider to throw light on the agency’s inner working. The book addresses three issues that has plagued the agency for years—lack of leadership, no accountability and political mishandling.

He reveals that even when it came to installing a secret communication network for the prime minister, RAW’s top bosses didn’t do the necessary homework. In May 2001, the Special Protection Group (SPG), which looks after the prime minister’s security, decided to procure a sophisticated communication system at an estimated cost of Rs 26.2 crore. RAW was asked to evaluate and identify the best system available. While the American firm Motorola emerged as the frontrunner, no mandatory tests were carried out for its "crack resistivity" (ability to withstand hacking) by the DRDO’s systems analysis group (SAG). "All communication systems with encryption systems must be tested by the SAG to ensure that people cannot hack into the system easily," Singh told Outlook.

Also, as a rule, security and intelligence agencies always use indigenous crypto systems. "But in this case," writes Singh, "it was developed by an American firm" and "it was quite likely that foreign intelligence agencies would have access to the algorithm." Any foreign intelligence agency "such as the CIA or maybe even the ISI would be able to eavesdrop on the network and know the exact details of the movements of the prime minister and the measures being taken to protect him," he says.

While Singh’s comments were accepted and the order postponed, it was given to Motorola without the mandatory SAG tests soon after his retirement from RAW. The defection of Rabinder Singh, a joint secretary with RAW looking after the Southeast Asia desk, shocked the agency. Maj Gen Singh now writes, "...lack of leadership at the top was responsible for the major fiasco." The activities of Rabinder Singh, a suspected CIA mole who later defected to the US, had already been brought to the notice of his superiors.

The Rabinder Singh defection episode was a bad bungle. Officers with no knowledge of intelligence facilitated his escape to the US.A middle-ranking officer, S. Chandrashekhar, alerted special secretary Amar Bhushan. Rabinder was put under surveillance. So how did Rabinder defect with such ease? The answers perhaps lie in the lax manner in which Bhushan handled the sensitive case. Bhushan, alleges Singh, was too busy appropriating positions for himself to attend to the

Rabinder matter. "He (Bhushan) changed his designation from additional secretary (personnel) to special secretary without the approval of the department of personnel and training." Soon Bhushan was also appointed as the head of Aviation Research Centre (ARC), an autonomous outfit under RAW.
Singh feels that the then RAW chief, C.D. Sahay, "did not have the gumption to tell Amar Bhushan to stay out of RAW" and concentrate on his work in the ARC. Instead, Bhushan was allowed to induct N.K Sharma from the central paramilitary forces who had no training in counter- intelligence into RAW to keep a watch on Rabinder. As Sharma blundered along, Rabinder flew out to the US via Kathmandu. He left with top-secret RAW documents, including assessments on Southeast Asia countries as well as information that he had accessed from the reports of other officers. Ironically, Sharma was "rewarded" with a plum foreign posting.

While the Rabinder Singh episode is a stark example of the rot that had set in, Singh goes on to record other examples of professional misconduct. He refers to an additional secretary, who when overlooked for promotion to the rank of special secretary, did not attend office for months. But no disciplinary action was taken against him. "This is unheard of. In the army, anyone away without leave for more than 30 days is declared a deserter," says Singh. This revelation is likely to embarrass a senior serving RAW official. Then again, Singh writes about how a senior officer spent lakhs having a logo designed for the agency. It could never be used for security reasons. Equally shocking is the case of an officer who funded his daughter’s education from the secret funds given to RAW. He had listed his daughter as an informant and paid her for ‘services’ rendered.

Singh feels the lack of accountability and financial auditing is detrimental to RAW’s efficiency. "Coming under the ministry of home affairs, the Intelligence Bureau has a modicum of ministerial control," he writes. But "RAW does not even have this fig leaf of restraint to curb its activities." He says it is strange that our intelligence agencies are exempt from accountability which even the armed forces are subservient to. "If war is too serious a business to be left to generals, should not intelligence be considered too serious a business to be left to spies?" asks Singh.

http://outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=2...;sid=1&pn=1

 

[con]

If RAW is so badly run,how can it destroy it's neighbors? Please enlighten me

 

[akzaman]

A big organization may have some internal problems but they may not hamper its effectiveness .

 

[niaz]

If this story is true then Nawaz Sharif should be tried for treason. It is immaterial who was responsible but once a country in state of war; it is an unpardonnable crime to hob nob with the enemy and Nawaz Sahrif did it only to say " I am innocent and a good man but my army is rogue". Any Prime Minister who has such links with the enemy that receives secret info from their intellegence network should be hanged "not elected".

Lahore Pahjee, would you care to comment??

 

[Adux]

Niaz Sir,

Politics aside, do you really think any Pakistani PM would do that,

 

[Neo]

How am I not surprised by this report.
Powerhungry people like NS or BB are quite capable of doing anything, they are an embarassement for the country.

 

[niaz]

Niaz Sir,

Politics aside, do you really think any Pakistani PM would do that,

No, I wouldn't expect it but it is not beyond the realm of possibilities.

People do a lot worse for the sake of power. Mir Jaaffer did it in the Battle of Plassey in 1757.

That is why I wrote " IF" the report is true. Who knows, we may have our "Benedict Arnold" in the person of Nawaz Sharif.

 

[con]

What I understood of the report there these tapes were carried to Nawab Sharif as a proof to show Musharaf's involvement(I have no idea why India has to prove to a Pakistani PM,that his Chief of Staff is in involved in the conflict) in Kargil. These were the initial days when PA was saying it has nothing to do with it.

Unless I am missing something,which says Sharif was the source who provided the way to tap the conversation?

There were some reports about these were tapped by the Israel intelligence,by one of it's listening post in Asia.I cant confirm it,but happen to read it somewhere .Dont remember now.

 

[niaz]

What I understood of the report there these tapes were carried to Nawab Sharif as a proof to show Musharaf's involvement(I have no idea why India has to prove to a Pakistani PM,that his Chief of Staff is in involved in the conflict) in Kargil. These were the initial days when PA was saying it has nothing to do with it.

Unless I am missing something,which says Sharif was the source who provided the way to tap the conversation?

There were some reports about these were tapped by the Israel intelligence,by one of it's listening post in Asia.I cant confirm it,but happen to read it somewhere .Dont remember now.

Whether Nawaz Sharif actually supplied this info or not is not the point. You can't tell me that even after the the conflict started NS was not aware of it. I have heard Sartaj Aziz, then Foreign Minister, on the BBC TV that it was only the Mujahideen and PA was only providing logistics support and Pakistan had no control over them thus unable to bring them down.

If you want to prove it is the Pak Army, you provide photographs not taped phone conversation. Only use these tapes could be to Nawaz if he was trying to prove to the US ( Clinton) that Musharraf was a bad boy that NS himself was a good boy and ask the help of your enemy!!!.

To do this to your own Army Chief is despicable to say the least. Whatever the reasons, if the story is true then Nawaz Sharif a Mir Jaffar of Pakistan in my eyes and whatever respect I had for him is lost.

 

[Adux]

No, I wouldn't expect it but it is not beyond the realm of possibilities.

People do a lot worse for the sake of power. Mir Jaaffer did it in the Battle of Plassey in 1757.

That is why I wrote " IF" the report is true. Who knows, we may have our "Benedict Arnold" in the person of Nawaz Sharif.

Again sir,

India merely told Nawaz who did it. Military played Sharif and the people, not the other way around. That relm of possibility especially with history of Pakistani armed forces, is also a good possiblity. I think Sharif helping India is far fetched, he may have tried to stop the conflict, which doesnt mean he is helping India, but rather he was helping his own people.

Pakistan Armed Forces was loosing with Indian ariel pounding and artillery in full swing. It was the first fully televised war of India, Americans understanding and seeing everything from their statellites and moles in Pakistan. Sharif stopped a stupid man from killing a lot of his soldiers on a lost cause. As always the matter with Pakistani Armed Forces plans, they failed to factor in the degree of Indian response and resolve as well as world's interest in the two-nuclear armed countries.