VEEKAYS NEWSLETTER – 2008

VEEKAYS NEWSLETTER – 2008

Dear Friends,

The year 2008 is coming to an end. It was a long, long year, but has gone in a whirl. I must have attended 30 – 40 hearings in the Tis Hazari courts, the High Court and the Chief Information Commissioner’s office. Add the visits to the lawyers’ chambers, the National Archives, the Nehru Memorial Library, the Press Information Bureau etc and of course the Signals History Cell – you will agree that ‘hectic’ would be an understatement. By now you must be confused, so let me start from the beginning.

You must be aware of the hullabaloo concerning my book India’s External Intelligence – Secrets of the Research & Analysis Wing (RAW), and what happened between publication of the book in June 2007 and the end of that year. For the benefit of those who did not get my last newsletter, I will give a brief summary. In September 2007 the CBI raided my house looking for incriminating documents that they thought I must have used while writing the book. They did not find any, but they took away my computer – it had the manuscript of the book - some diaries, and my passport. I don’t think they were really interested in the passport, but since they did not find anything worthwhile, they added it to the list of seized items. The CBI informed me that they had registered an FIR under Section 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, based on a complaint from the RAW that I had revealed ‘secrets’ in the book that endanger the security and sovereignty of India. I wonder if the deputy secretary who signed the letter knows the meaning of the word ‘sovereignty’.

To forestall imminent arrest, I applied for anticipatory bail. During the hearing held on 26/09/07 in the Court of the Sessions Judge in Tis Hazari, the CBI opposed the bail application. However, they were unable to produce any evidence to support their plea. They informed the court that they had still to read the book and examine the other documents seized from my house and needed more time. The Court granted their request and fixed the next date of hearing on 5/11/2007. The CBI gave an undertaking that they would not arrest me without the sanction of the Court. In view of this the Court felt that there was no need to pass any order regarding bail.

In the next hearing the CBI did not produce any evidence. However, they opposed the bail, asking for custodial interrogation. They also requested that subsequent hearings should be held ‘in camera’, since the documents they intended to produce were very sensitive. This was obviously done with the intention of keeping the proceedings away from the glare of the media, which had severely castigated the action of the CBI and RAW. After about a dozen hearings, during which the CBI could not produce anything, on 11/4/08 the Addl. Sessions Judge passed an order allowing ‘in camera’ hearing of the anticipatory bail application. I then filed a petition against this order in the High Court, which stayed the proceedings. The hearings for this are still going on.

Meanwhile, CBI filed a charge sheet on 11/4/08 in the Court of the CMM. Soon after the filing of the charge sheet in the court of the CMM, I filed a revision petition in the High Court on 14/5/08 to quash the FIR and charge sheet. Both petitions in the High Court are being heard together.

An application filed by me under Section 311 Cr.P.C on 8/4/08 and the case filed by the CBI in the court of the CMM are being heard together. In the hearing on 24/10/08, the CMM, Shri Sanjeev Jain was not holding court and the link magistrate adjourned both matters for 6/2/09. Before the hearing in the High Court on 12/11/08, the CBI counsel spoke to my counsel Mr. Prashant Bhushan and requested him to agree for an adjournment since his wife was not well. In the two previous hearings on 17/7/08 and 25/8/08 he had sought adjournments on similar grounds. Since the next date of hearing in the CMM’s court was on 6/2/09, we agreed to his request and the High Court adjourned the case for 28/1/09.

On 14/11/09 I was informed by someone in Tis Hazari that the case for taking of cognizance had been heard by the CMM, Mrs. Kaveri Baweja and she would pass orders at 2 pm. This took me completely by surprise and I rushed to Tis Hazari. It became clear that the CBI counsel had prevailed on the link magistrate to change the date after my counsel Mr. Anup Khullar left on 24/10/08. I filed an application in the court of the CMM calling for the steno notebook of 24/10/08 when my counsel had been clearly told that that the next date for both cases would be 6/2/09. The CMM adjourned the hearing to 5/12/08 and then to 21/1/2009. The aim of the CBI counsel was s very clear. Using any means, he wanted the CMM to take cognizance of the case before it is argued in the High Court, where there is a good chance of the FIR and charge sheet being quashed, since there is no substance in the charges. I have written a letter to the CBI Chief, Mr Ashwani Kumar, bringing to his notice the unethical behavior their counsel.

Of course, mine is not the only book about RAW. Till date, four books on RAW have been published in India (there are many in Pakistan). These are:-

(a) Inside RAW: The Story of India’s Secret Service, by Asoka Raina, (Vikas Publishing House, Delhi, 1981).

(b) India’s External Intelligence – Secrets of the Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) by Maj Gen VK Singh (Manas Publications, New Delhi, June 2007).

(c) The Kaoboys of R&AW- Down Memory Lane by B. Raman, (Lancer Publishers, New Delhi, July 2007).

(d) Inside IB and RAW- The Rolling Stone that Gathered Moss by K. Sankaran Nair (Manas Publications, New Delhi, October 2007).

All three books are more explicit than the one written by me and contain many disclosures of the type that have been included in my charge sheet. The main charges are as under :-

(a) Revealing the charter of RAW recommended by the Group of Minister in 2001. (The GOM Report is available on the MOD website, but according to RAW it is Secret. It has also been mentioned in the PIB release as well as several articles)

(b) Facts related to Project Vision 2000 which was Top Secret. (All that is given in the book is that I was deputed to RAW as Joint Secretary (Tele) under Project Vision 2000, which had 15 projects.)

(c) Facts related to VSAT project and purchase of VHF/UHF antennae (These were procured from private companies in India and abroad, all of whom were given the detailed technical parameters).

(d) Locations of stations in India as well as foreign countries. (Since RAW’s charter is external intelligence, this is hardly a secret. The other books have mentioned many more locations than what I have mentioned. Articles that regularly appear in the media also give names of RAW officers posted abroad eg Ravi Nair who was recalled from Colombo, Man Mohan Sharma and Uma Mishra from Beijing and so on. The Wikipedia article has photos of RAW stations with latitude and longitude, including the ARC airbase in Kazakhistan!)

I filed about 25 applications under the Right to Information Act, 2005 with various departments such as the PMO, Cabinet Secretariat, MHA, Law Ministry, CBI, NSCS and so on. I pointed out the disclosures made in other books and articles and asked them whether they are being prosecuted. As expected, no one gave a straight answer. The applications were transferred from one agency to another. Finally, they landed up in the NSCS or the Cabinet Secretariat (SR) which refused to answer, quoting security concerns. I then filed complaints/appeals with the Chief Information Commissioner. The first batch of 17 cases was heard by the CIC on 10/10/2008. Orders were issued on most of them. A few are still pending. One pertains to the Cabinet Sectt (SR), which has been asked to provide the information regarding action taken on the complaint transferred to it by the CVC, since it involves corruption. The second pertains to the NSCS, which has been asked to produce the GOM Report on National Security without deletions. Meanwhile, as advised by the CIC, I have addressed complaints regarding other books and articles to the CBI as well as the NSA.

Why am I being targeted? There are many reasons. One is that I was an outsider, while Raman and Sankaran Nair are both old RAW hands. In the Hindustan Times of 13/10/07, Barkha Dutt wrote:-

Moreover, why has V.K. Singh been singled out for punishment? After all, a slew of recent books by former spies – including one by security analyst B. Raman that accuses Rajiv Gandhi of covering up the Bofors probe – have been allowed into the public domain without fuss or fury. Could it be because V.K. Singh was never an ‘insider’ but a military officer on deputation? Is this just petty bureaucratic politics playing itself out?

In the Indian Express on 9/10/07 Veerappa Moily, the Chairman of the Administrative Reforms Commission (which recommended that the Official Secrets Act, 1923, should be repealed) wrote:-

Such overly harsh and sweeping provisions help create a Kafaesque atmosphere of secrecy about even trifling matters as shown by the travails of a former RAW officer whose criticism of the procurement practices in his former organisation have been taken to be a breach of the OSA. His revelations may be considered as whistle-blowing by some while his former colleagues may consider them to be washing dirty linen in public. But how such allegations can be considered a breach of national security is difficult to fathom.

TSR Subramanian, who was the Cabinet Secretary between 1996 and 1998, wrote in the Indian Express on 6/10/07:

……How can a person be hauled up before court for revealing official secrets if the prosecuting agency does not even know what secrets are being revealed? This is some kind of Alice in Wonderland situation. ……V.K. Singh is basically to be seen as a whistleblower.

Another factor is the personal animus of the present RAW Chief, Mr Ashok Chaturvedi. Apparently, he was peeved at the mention of the incident concerning a senior officer who did not attend office for several months after he was overlooked for promotion. Though he was not named in the book, this was known to everyone and later became public knowledge. As was widely reported by the media, he was promoted as Special Secretary and later as Secretary at the behest of the then Cabinet Secretary, BK Chaturvedi, who was related to him. A biographical sketch of the Ashok Chaturvedi on Wikipedia gives many other interesting details.

Another reason is that the book has named several officers who were corrupt. Some of them were very senior, belonging to the Cabinet Secretariat, MHA, SPG and RAW. Their names have been published in many articles. (Double Checking by Saikat Datta in the Outlook, 28 Jan 2008). These officers are extremely annoyed at the disclosure and have vowed to teach the ‘whistle blower’ a lesson. It was expected that some of them may drag me court – the fact that they have not done so is itself a pointer. Rather than sue me for libel, they have hit on a better option – prosecuting me under the OSA. It does not cost a penny, and they will achieve their aim, without their names being dragged in court.

It is pertinent that I had reported these cases to my superiors while in service. There were two cases which involved corruption. One was the procurement of the Motorola system by the SPG and the other was the purchase of VHF/UHF antennae by RAW. (In the third case of VSATs, there was no corruption but attempts to sabotage the project by moles). I reported both cases in writing right up the chain. In the SPG case I even wrote a DO letter to a Joint Secretary in the PMO, after which the order was cancelled. (Strangely enough, the SPG case does not find mention in my charge sheet). The same happened in the case of the antennae. The order was put on hold. However, after I left RAW, both items were purchased at the original price. This really got my goat. It was only after this that I decided to put it in the book.

I must acknowledge the support that I have received from a wide cross section of society, including the media. Mr. Prashant Bhushan, a well known Supreme Court lawyer and PIL activist, is handling my cases in the High Court. Two very close friends, Anup Khullar and Chander Maini are doing the same in the lower courts. Mr Arvind Kejriwal, the RTI activist, has given advice on the RTI matters. On my part, I have approached the National Human Rights Commission, the Chief Vigilance Commission, and the Chief Information Commission. Is it not strange that the personal animus of one man – Ashok Chaturvedi – has made a mockery of democracy and the rule of law in our country? After this, will anyone raise his voice against corruption? Do statutes like the Right to Information Act and the Whistleblowers Resolutions exist only on paper?

Enough of my travails, which must be depressing for others. I am sure it will end one day, but it may take a long time. I have always believed in the dictum, “do what you have to do, and leave the rest to God”. This is also the essence of the Gita – do your Karma, without worrying about the results.

Like last year, we had a wonderful holiday in the hills this year too. (I think Sukesh Jain is unhappier than me about my passports being seized. We had decided to visit a new place abroad every year, and started with China in 2006.) This year we went to Lansdowne, and were paying guests of the Garhwal Rifles Centre. I had stayed with them in 1982 and 1983 while doing the recce for the Himalayan Car Rally and wanted to show my grandchildren the wonderful collection of shikar trophies in their Officers Mess. Unfortunately, we discovered that we were not permitted to enter the Mess, so the kids were disappointed. But there were many other attractions, and it was good fun. We stayed in a cottage named after Colonel Rudra who had donated the funds for its construction. Incidentally, he is credited with the idea of spending the money donated by Sudan on building an inter services training academy (NDA) instead of a war memorial.

We are still staying in ABHIMAUR-VIKUM, at G-31, Palam Vihar. The house is only our years old, but has been giving us problems. The builder used sub standard pipes, which rusted and there was a lot of seepage. I had to get all the GI pipes replaced by PPR pipes. This entailed breaking the walls of the bathrooms and some of the bedrooms. We had to spend a lot of money on new pipes, tiles, plaster, POP and paint. The repairs are still going on. I filed a case in the Consumer Redressal Forum and have been awarded Rs 4 lacs as damages! He still has not paid up, but will, since a warrant has now been issued.

The new DSOI and Ansal Plaza have come up next to our house. Kumud and I spend an hour every morning at the gym in the DSOI, which has proved to be a boon for the service officers living nearby. The mall is not yet fully functional, through the three movie halls are. We see at least one movie every week. There is no need to book seats in advance – a couple of times, there were just the two of us in the hall.

My daughter, Mauravi and her family stay with us on the ground floor, but are now moving to their own flat in Celebrity Homes nearby. Her hubby, Vaibhav, is in the merchant navy and on leave presently, helping with the shifting. Of course, we will miss their two children, Mriggya and Eshaana – they are 6 and 4 – but hope to see them every day, being so near. My son Abhimanyu is still staying with us, on the first floor, with his wife Jasmine, and their two children, Bhuvanyu and Khushi, who are almost the same age – 6 and 4 ½ respectively. Abhimanyu is still running his company, Trinity Education Services. His Irish setter, Red, is now the only canine member of the family. She is getting on in years – 11 years - and may be with us for another couple of years. After we lost our Dalmation (Misha) and the Golden Retriever (Sophia) last year, Kumud was so traumatized that she has vowed not to keep another dog.

My USI project – The Contribution of the Armed Forces to the Freedom Movement was completed a year ago. It is likely to be published soon by Knowledge World. I spend most of time on the third volume of the History of the Corps of Signals, which will cover the period 1947 to 1972. I have been at it for over a year now, and hope to complete it in 2010. It is to be released during the Corps Centenary in February 2011.

Sorry for the long newsletter. But so much has happened, and is happening, that I thought I must share it with friends. Forgive me if I have bored you to death.

Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas and a Very Happy and Prosperous New Year.

Vinay and Kumud Singh

G-31, Palam Vihar, Gurgaon – 122017

Tele:0124- 4074077, 9873494521, 9810618599

25^thDecember2008

COMPARISON OF BOOKS ON RAW

COMPARISON OF BOOKS ON RAW

India’s External Intelligence
by Maj Gen VK Singh

1. RAW purchased VHF/UHF antennae from a German firm at prices several times higher than in the international market.

2. SPG bought communication equipment from an American company without following laid
down procedures and getting the mandatory security checks on the secrecy equipment, thus endangering the security of the PM.

3. Attempts by personnel in RAW to stall and delay the new communication project based
on a secure VSAT network, so that the existing insecure systems continue to be used.

4. The involvement of other officers in RAW in the escape of Rabinder Singh, suspected to be an
American mole.

5. Mr. Ashok Chaturvedi, the present chief, did not attend office for eight months when he was superseded for promotion from additional secretary to special secretary.

6. Mr. Amar Bhushan continued to occupy the office of Special Secretary (Pers) in RAW even
after he was promoted and posted as Special Secretary (SR) in Bikaner House, and later as
Special Secretary, ARC.

7. A CSD (Canteen Stores Department) canteen was opened in RAW in 2001 to cater for ex-servicemen. However, all personnel of RAW were permitted to buy items from the canteen, violating existing orders and evading sales tax and excise duties. (The canteen has recently been ordered to be closed).
8. Plans were made by RAW to intercept the submarine cable connecting Western Europe to the Asia Pacific, in gross violation of international agreements and the laws laid down by the ITU (International Telecommunication Union), the UN body which regulates telecommunication traffic throughout the World. It could have also caused severe embarrassment to India in the international
community.


The Kaoboys of R&AW- Down Memory Lane
by B Raman

1. RAW could not prevent the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman in 1975, though it had advance information about the threat to his life.

2. RAW did not share with IB the advance information it had which could have prevented the arms drop in Purulia.

3. In 1999, warnings from IB regarding unusual activity in Pakistan’s Northern Areas were ignored by RAW, leading to the Kargil fiasco.

4. RAW gave incorrect advice to Rajiv Gandhi in the Bofors cover up, resulting in severe erosion of his image.

5. RAW was partly responsible for the assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1984. After Operation Blue Star, Kao, then Senior Adviser, decided that no Sikhs would be deployed for the PM’s close proximity security. When she expressed her misgivings, the orders were cancelled. If Kao had stood his ground, perhaps the tragedy could have been averted.

6. In 1991, the intelligence agencies knew that Rajiv Gandhi was under threat from Khalistani terrorists as well as the LTTE. Yet, nothing was done, on the pretext that the SPG Act did not cover security of an ex-PM. After the assassination, RAW’s monitoring division was able to track down the conspirators by intercepting LTTE communications. If the earlier monitoring had been as systematic, Rajiv’s death could have been prevented.

7. Indiscipline, nepotism and corruption were rampant in RAW. Trade unionism led to a strike in 1980 when officers ‘gheraoed’ by the strikers had to be rescued by the Police. Nepotism in recruitment and promotions was common, and the agency was facetiously called the Relatives and Associates Wing. RAW officers posted abroad lived in style and were the only ones who could afford Mercedes cars.

8. Based on inputs from the RAW and IB that Khalistani terrorists would disrupt the Delhi Asiad in 1982, all Sikhs entering Delhi were stopped and searched for hidden weapons. The humiliation suffered by the Sikhs of Punjab and Delhi drove many of them into the arms of Khalistani terrorists. The situation rapidly deteriorated, culminating in Blue Star, Indira Gandhi’s assassination and the anti Sikh riots that followed.

Inside IB and RAW
by K. Sankaran Nair

1. India paid $6 million as kickbacks in the mid-1970s for a loan of $250 million from the Shah of Iran. The money was paid to Rashidyan, a local financier who was a close friend of the Shah's sister Ashraf Pehlawi. The amount was paid from MEA funds with the approval of the Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. Nair personally deposited the amount in a Swiss Bank.
2. BN Mullick, Director IB; Lt Gen BN Kaul, the Chief of General Staff; and Krishna Menon, the Defence Minister, let down Nehru by advocating the ‘forward policy’ and their erroneous assessment of the Chinese strength and intentions leading to the 1962 debacle.
3. Indira Gandhi was was seriously considering sending Rajiv Gandhi and his family to Kathmandu, in response to an offer of asylum by the King of Nepal following her defeat in the 1977 elections.
4. During the Asian Games in 1982, VC Shukla asked army doctors to go to East Germany to study the use of drugs to enhance the performance of Indian athletes.
5. Indira Gandhi used the services of an ex-IB chief to bring down Janata government
6. RAW was created by Indira Gandhi to undermine IB, and reduce the power of the then home minister, Y.B. Chavan..

DETAILS OF CASE – MAJ GEN V.K. SINGH - 2008

In response to request from several friends and well wishers, I am giving an update of my case.

DETAILS OF CASE – MAJ GEN V.K. SINGH

Maj. Gen. V K. Singh (Retd) is the son of Late Th. Kameshwar Singh, a well known freedom fighter who was awarded the Tamra Patra. He was originally from Ballia and had joined the freedom struggle as a student of Allahabad University, for which he suffered imprisonment during the Quit India movement in 1942. After Independence he joined the Police as a Dy.S.P. and was later inducted into the IPS. After his retirement he was Director Freedom Fighters Welfare Board of UP for over 5 years. His son Maj. Gen. V.K. Singh is a career soldier who was commissioned on 27/6/1965. During his 37 years unblemished service in the Army he has held several important appointments, the last being the Chief Signal Officer of the Western Army. In November 2000 he went on deputation to the Cabinet Sectt., Research & Analysis Wing (RAW), as Joint Secretary (Telecom) under Project Vision 2000. He retired from Army service on 30/6/2002 on attaining the age of 58. He was then re-employed in the same appointment in RAW until 30/6/2004, when he attained the age of 60.

Maj. Gen. V.K. Singh is a well known author who has been writing poems, short stories and articles for almost 40 years. During the seventies and eighties many of his poems and short stories were published in magazines. In later years he turned to professional writing and has written many articles and papers in service and professional journals. He is a prolific write and has authored four books. In 2001 he produced a coffee table book Through – Saga of the Corps of Signals. His second book, Leadership in the Indian Army – Biographies of Twelve Soldiers, was published in 2005. This book has received excellent reviews not only in India but also in foreign countries, including Pakistan. It has been appreciated by several well known authors, such as Khushwant Singh. His third book, History of the Corps of Signals Volume II, was published in 2006. He was holding the Chhatrapati Shivaji Chair (2006-07) at the United Service Institution of India for carrying out research on ‘The Contribution of the Armed Forces to the Freedom Movement in India’. He has recently submitted the manuscript of the book, which is likely to be published in the next few months. He is presently working on the third volume of the History of the Corps of Signals, for which he has been specially invited by the Corps of Signals of the Indian Army.

Maj. Gen. V.K. Singh’s fourth book entitled India’s External Intelligence – Secrets of the Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) has recently been published by Manas Publications, New Delhi. This is the first time a book on RAW has been written by someone who has actually served in the intelligence agency. The book brings to light several lacunae in the functioning of RAW, the most glaring being the anomalies in the procurement of equipment, lack of accountability and our dependence on foreign sources. As a committed citizen, he was agitated at the malpractices that he noticed. Even more important, he found that the security of important persons such as the Prime Minister was being compromised, ‘for a few pieces of silver’, which is the title of one of his chapters.

On 21/09/2007, nearly three months after the publication of the book, the CBI raided the house of Maj. Gen. V.K. Singh and took away his computer, passports and some other documents. The CBI informed him that they had registered an FIR under Section 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, based on a complaint from the RAW that he had revealed ‘secrets’ in the book that endanger the security and sovereignty of India. Fearing his imminent arrest, he applied for anticipatory bail on 25/09/2007. During the hearing held on 26/09/07 in the Court of the Sessions Judge in Tis Hazari the CBI opposed the bail application. However, they were unable to produce any evidence to support their plea. They informed the court that they had still to read the book and examine the other documents seized from his house and needed more time. The Court granted their request and fixed the next date of hearing on 5/11/2007. The CBI gave an undertaking that they would not arrest him without the sanction of the Court. In view of this the Court felt that there was no need to pass any order regarding bail.

In the hearing on 5/11/07 the CBI did not produce any evidence. However, they opposed the bail, asking for custodial interrogation. They also requested that subsequent hearings should be held ‘in camera’, since the documents they intended to produce were very sensitive. This was obviously done with the intention of keeping the proceedings away from the glare of the media, which has severely castigated the action of the CBI and RAW. Subsequent hearings of the case were held on 30/11/07, 4/12/07, 10/12/07, 4/01/08, 14/1/08 and 22/1/08. The next hearing is due on 5/2/08.

The CBI called Maj. Gen. V.K. Singh for questioning to their office on 5/12/07. The next day he was again called to the CBI office but the questioning could not be completed as he was suffering from intense pain. He is an old patient of lumbar canal stenosis with prolapsed disc in 3rd, 4th and 5th lumbar vertebrae, which sometimes causes pain his back and leg. In the evening he went to the Army Hospital (RR) and was examined by a neuro-surgeon who advised complete bed rest for 15-20 days. An MRI done on 10/12/07 confirmed the cause of the problem. On 11/12/07, the CBI came to the residence of Maj Gen VK Singh to complete their questioning. On 13/12/07, the CBI also summoned the Publisher, Vivek Garg for questioning.

Till date, four books on RAW have been published in India. These are:-

(a) Inside RAW: The Story of India’s Secret Service, by Ashok Raina, (Vikas Publishing House, Delhi, 1981).
(b) India’s External Intelligence – Secrets of the Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) by Maj Gen VK Singh (Manas Publications, New Delhi, June 2007).
(c) The Kaoboys of R&AW- Down Memory Lane by B. Raman, (Lancer Publishers, New Delhi, July 2007).
(d) Inside IB and RAW- The Rolling Stone that Gathered Moss by K. Sankaran Nair (Manas Publications, New Delhi, October 2007).

The first book by Ashok Raina is now out of print. However, copies are still available in libraries. The other three books are recent publications, published in 2007. Reviews of these three books have been published in various newspapers and journals. In addition, a large number of articles have been written, especially in respect of the book written by Maj. Gen. V.K. Singh. The action of the RAW and CBI has been condemned by almost all sections of society and the media. It is generally felt that he is being victimised for bringing out instances of corruption and malfeasance in RAW, which has been severely embarrassed by these disclosures. It is also felt that the other books on RAW written by insiders such as B. Raman and K. Sankaran Nair are more explicit and have revealed much more information that could be considered sensitive. Yet, only his book has invited the ire of RAW. In order to carry out a comparison of the three books, the important disclosures in each are given in the Annexure. It is obvious that the information revealed in the books written by Raman and Sankaran Nair is more sensitive than what is contained in the book written by Maj. Gen. V.K. Singh. However, there has been no murmur of protest from RAW about these revelations. There are many reasons for this discrimination. Some of these are evident from the large number of articles that have appeared in the press.
In the Hindustan Times of 13/10/07, Barkha Dutt wrote:-
Moreover, why has V.K. Singh been singled out for punishment? After all, a slew of recent books by former spies – including one by security analyst B. Raman that accuses Rajiv Gandhi of covering up the Bofors probe – have been allowed into the public domain without fuss or fury. Could it be because V.K. Singh was never an ‘insider’ but a military officer on deputation? Is this just petty bureaucratic politics playing itself out?
In the Indian Express on 9/10/07 Veerappa Moily, the Chairman of the Administrative Reforms Commission (which has already recommended that the Official Secrets Act, 1923, should be repealed) wrote:-
Such overly harsh and sweeping provisions help create a Kafaesque atmosphere of secrecy about even trifling matters as shown by the travails of a former RAW officer whose criticism of the procurement practices in his former organisation have been taken to be a breach of the OSA. His revelations may be considered as whistle-blowing by some while his former colleagues may consider them to be washing dirty linen in public. But how such allegations can be considered a breach of national security is difficult to fathom.
T.S.R. Subramanian, who was the Cabinet Secretary between 1996 and 1998, wrote in the Indian Express on 6/10/07:
……How can a person be hauled up before court for revealing official secrets if the prosecuting agency does not even know what secrets are being revealed? This is some kind of Alice in Wonderland situation..…V.K. Singh is basically to be seen as a whistleblower.

The case against Maj. Gen. V.K. Singh has been registered by the CBI on the basis of a written complaint dated 6/9/2007 from Shri B. Bhatacharjee, Deputy Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India. Significantly, the complaint does not specify if it relates to RAW, since this is not mentioned anywhere, including the address of the sender. The complaint does not give details of the secrets alleged to have been revealed in the book. The FIR registered by the CBI on 20/9/2007 also does not mention any specific detail of the so called secrets. This is exactly what has been pointed out by Mr. T.S.R. Subramanian, an ex-Cabinet Secretary of the Government of India. It is clear that the FIR is without basis and has been registered with a view to harass Maj. Gen. V.K. Singh. No FIR has been registered against the authors of the other books about RAW, written by B. Raman and K. Sankaran Nair, which have revealed information that can be considered damaging to national security as well as friendly relations with foreign countries.

The letter based on which the FIR has been registered by the CBI charges him with ‘publishing various classified secret information including the names of various officials and their designations, functions, station codes, various technical projects, functioning of Telecom Division and Signal Intelligence, including that of SPG etc, in violation of the Official Secrets Act, 1923’. Apart from the fact that these charges do not reveal specific details of the secret information alleged to have been published, they are entirely false. For instance, officials working in RAW headquarters are government servants, and not intelligence agents or spies, whose identity is to be protected. Their names are designations are known to everyone, including the Directorate of Estates which allots them accommodation; the CPWD, which maintains their houses; the electricity, telephone and horticulture departments, which provide then services; the CGHS dispensary and the private clinics where they take medical treatment and so on. The names of these officers are available on the web site of the department of personnel. (http://persmin.nic.in).
That second relates to revealing station codes. Page 45 of the book contains the following passage: ‘As was to be expected, the department had a number of stations in foreign countries. These were usually referred to by three letter code signs, such as ABC, XYZ, RST etc. The code signs were designed for use in messages or telegrams that were sent outside, as a security measure.’ The fact that RAW has stations in foreign countries is well known, since its charter is external intelligence. Without these stations, RAW would not be able to fulfill its assigned role. The passage only gives an example of the use of code signs, and does not reveal the actual location or code sign of any station. The charge is obviously malicious and false.
The next charge relates to technical projects. All the projects mentioned in the book eg. the VHF/UHF antenna, the SPG communication equipment, the VSAT project etc, were procured form private companies, mostly of foreign origin. Since details of these projects were known to private vendors, their disclosure cannot be termed a revelation of secrets, as alleged by RAW. Another charge relates to the functioning of Telecom Division and Signals Intelligence. This again is a vague and meaningless charge, without basis. It is difficult to comprehend how the functioning of a department can jeopardise national security. Similarly, an explanation of the meaning of signals intelligence and the various activities covered by it can hardly be termed as secret. The same applies to the SPG.
Comprehensive information about RAW is already in the public domain. The Wikipedia site has photographs of RAW headquarters as well as ARC bases, with map coordinates (latitude and longitude), including those in foreign countries, and the type of aircraft held. It also gives the organisation of RAW, its role and functions, successes and failures, names of its heads since inception, and so on. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_and_Analysis_Wing)
It is ironical that Maj Gen VK Singh is still working on a project assigned to him by the Army, in which he has access to classified documents. He has been engaged by the Directorate General of Signals, Army headquarters to write the third volume of the History of the Corps of Signals, which will cover the period 1947 to 1972. (He had earlier written the second volume, covering the period 1939 to 1947). For this purpose, a dedicated history cell has been established in the Signals Enclave on Rao Tula Ram Marg in New Delhi, where adequate staff and secretarial support is provided. The cell also holds classified documents pertaining to the period that is to be covered by the book. It is inconceivable that the Army would entrust such a sensitive task to Maj Gen VK Singh if his credentials were questionable.
It is felt that Maj Gen VK Singh is being harassed purely because of the personal animus of the present RAW chief, Mr. Ashok Chaturvedi, who is extremely annoyed because of the mention in the book of the incident concerning a senior officer who did not attend office for several months after he was overlooked for promotion. Though he was not named in the book, this was known to everyone in the organization and later became public knowledge. As was widely reported by the media, he was promoted as Special Secretary and later as Secretary at the behest of the then Cabinet Secretary, BK Chaturvedi, who was related to him. A biographical sketch of Mr Ashok Chaturvedi on Wikipedia gives many other interesting details, a perusal of which will prove the point. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashok_Chaturvedi).
Maj. Gen. V.K. Singh is being prosecuted under the Official Secret Act, a draconian law passed by the British in 1923, which is an anachronism in a democracy like India. It has resulted in many cases of miscarriage of justice in the past, but this is perhaps the first time it is being used to settle personal scores. The Administrative Reforms Commission chaired by Shri Veerappa Moily has recommended the repeal or amendment of the Act, which is in direct contradiction to the Right to Information Act and the Whistle Blowers Resolution passed recently. Maj. Gen. V.K. Singh is a responsible officer who has an unblemished record of almost 40 years service to the country. He has been careful while writing the book to ensure that no classified material is included in the book. His aim in writing the book was to highlight the shortcomings in the functioning of the intelligence agencies in order to improve their functional efficiency. In fact, he has rendered a service to the nation and deserves to be rewarded rather than being targeted by the intelligence agencies who are annoyed with him for revealing their shortcomings.

It is probable that Maj. Gen. V.K. Singh is being harassed because he is a soldier and was an outsider in RAW, as Barkha Dutt pointed out. Of course, this is not the first time this has happened. There was the well known case of Captain BK Subba Rao, a Naval officer who was falsely implicated in a case under the OSA in the early nineties. After spending almost two years in jail, he was acquitted, with not a word of apology from the Government. But when Iftikhar Gilani, correspondent for the Kashmir Times was arrested in 2002 under the OSA on trumped up charges, the whole of the media and the political establishment rose in his defence, forcing the Government to withdraw the charges against him. About 50 members of parliament made a personal appeal to the Home Minister to compensate Gilani and repeal the draconian Official Secrets Act. Maj Gen VK Singh deserves the same consideration that was shown to Gilani. As a whistle blower, he expects protection from the State, not harassment, which is what he is being subjected to at the moment. Will the Government of the largest democracy oblige, or permit their image to be sullied before the whole World?

In the 28 January 2008 issue of the Outlook Saikat Datta has revealed that the National Security Adviser has ordered an inquiry against the officers named in the book who are suspected to be corrupt. The inquiry will be conducted by GBS Sidhu, a retired special secretary of RAW. However, an ‘internal’ enquiry is unlikely to achieve anything. If the government is serious about bringing the corrupt officers to book, it should hand over the investigation to the CBI. The nomination of Sidhu to conduct the enquiry also raises a very interesting question. Since he is no longer a government servant, does not giving Sidhu access to classified files violate the OSA?

In an article about his case in the Dainik Jagran of 12/10/07 noted columnist A. Surya Prakash ended with a very relevant question: Will Parliament stand up for him? He is waiting for an answer from our respected law makers.