Our prime minister has lamented how India stokes terrorism in Pakistan. India equates the freedom movement in the illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir with “terrorism”. She keeps mum about how it armed and trained Mukti Bahini terrorists in erstwhile East Pakistan. Indira Gandhi urged the army chief Gen Sam Maneckshaw to rush the invasion of East Pakistan. But, Maneckshaw delayed the invasion until the monsoon was over. RAW officer B. Raman, in his book The Kaoboys of R&AW makes no bones about India’s involvement up to the level of prime minister in East Pakistan’s insurgency.
In a published letter, RAW officer RK Yadav made a startling revelation that India’s prime minister Indira Gandhi, parliament, RAW and armed forces acted in tandem to dismember Pakistan. The confessions in his letter are corroborated by B. Raman’s book The Kaoboys of R&AW:Down Memory Lane. He reminds `Indian parliament passed resolution on March 31, 1971 to support insurgency (terrorism from Pak angle). Indira Gandhi had then confided with Kao that in case Mujib was prevented from ruling Pakistan, she would liberate East Pakistan from the clutches of the military junta. Kao, through one RAW agent, hijacked a Fokker Friendship, the Ganga, of Indian Airlines hijacked from Srinagar to Lahore to block Pak flights to East Pakistan.’
Amar Bhushan in his book Terror in Islamabad reveals how he brazenly violated norms of diplomatic immunity to complete his missions. Bhushan happened to have served as a diplomat at the Indian High Commission Islamabad. Before being posted to Islamabad, Bhushan had served as an officer of India’s premier intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing, Border Security Force Intelligence, and State Special Branch for a quarter of a century. His book mentions another RAW officer disguised as a diplomat. Amit Munshi (real name Veer Singh) posted as Cultural Attache.
Indian ambassador Bharath Raj Muthu Kumar, with the consent of then Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh, secretly coordinated military and medical assistance to the Alliance via Tajikistan air base Farkhor (How India secretly armed Afghanistan’s Northern Alliance. Former envoy has a word of caution on Delhi’s role in a post-U.S. Kabul. The Hindu 1 September 2019). The support involved helicopters, ordnance, mortars, small armaments, refurbished Kalashnikovs seized in Kashmir, combat and winter clothes, packaged food, medicines, and funds. These supplies were delivered circuitously with the help of other countries (Aeini and Farkhor air bases in Tajikistan) or through Massoud’s brother in London, Wali Massoud. India opened four consulates at Kandahar, Jalalabad, Herat, and Mazar-e-Sharif, besides its embassy at Kabul. India established a Free Balochistan office in New Delhi under Naila Baloch. The inauguration was attended by many Indian government/intelligence officers.
India’s Northern Army Commander Lt General Upendra Dwivedi alleged that the Indian army had killed five terrorists who were in fact Pakistani soldiers. As if in delirium tremens, he had earlier yelled, “As far as the Indian Army is concerned, it will carry out
any order given by the Government of India [to annex Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan “ .
His statement is a sycophantic follow-up to a similar statement by India’s defence minister Rajnath Singh “of taking back PoK”. Besides Rajnath many other Indian leaders including Bipen Rawat, Ajit Doval and Narendra Modi have made provocative statements about AK and GB. In 1994, India’s Lok Sabha (house of people) passed a resolution under the then prime minister Narasimha Rao. The resolution stated that AJK and GB are an integral part of India by virtue of Jammu and Kashmir’s accession to India.
India treacherously annexed over 500 other princely state by hook or by crook. For instance, Junagadh annexation is still an unresolved item on the UN agenda.
Dwivedi means ‘one who knows two vedas’. In Sanskrit, Dvi means ‘two’ and Vedi means ‘to see’. Therefore, a Dwivedi is one with ‘two-fold vision’, or someone who is able to distinguish between right and wrong. The general’s statement reflects that he has purblind vision, not seeing consequences of a war between two nuclear armed neighbours. Victory in case of a nuclear confrontation will, at best, be pyrrhic.
Dwivedi appears to have been infatuated by provision of K9-Vajra self-propelled howitzer (50 mile range) being manufactured by Larsen and Toubro in Gujarat. China has already provided Pakistan with similar howitzers to neutralize India’s fire power (China supplies mounted howitzers to Pak to maintain arms parity with India, Hindustan Times Jan 27, 2022). Dwivedi appears to be oblivious of facts about Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan. On November 1, 1947, the governor of Gilgit, Brig Ghansara Singh surrendered to the Gilgit Scouts and signed an instrument of surrender on November 3, 1947. The people of the region proclaimed Gilgit as part of Pakistan and hoisted Pakistan’s flag. Skardu was liberated after about a year on August 14, 1948, when Lt Col Thapa of 6th Jammu and Kashmir infantry along with 250 soldiers surrendered to liberation forces.
Historian Yousaf Saraf if of the view that Gilgit –Baltistan is a part of Azad Kashmir as is evident from Accord signed between AK and Pakistan government. Sartaj Aziz committee recommended to the federal government to make Gilgit-Baltistan a full-fledged province with representation in both the houses of parliament.
Concluding reflections: India’s foreign policy is based on Chanakyan principle mach nyaya, that is the ‘way of the fish’. That is to say big fish eats the small one. Modi is convinced that his electoral achievements are due to his Macho (strongman) image. protesting. He trumpets his “surgical strikes”, celebrates “Kargil victory”, and anti-Muslim citizenship laws.
