Wednesday, December 25, 2013

VEEKAYS’ NEWSLETTER – 2013

VEEKAYS’ NEWSLETTER – 2013

Dear Friends,

Another year has rolled past. At our age, another year may not bring about any perceptible change in our lives. But for a child, a year is quite large span of time. When we see our grandchildren operating ipads, connecting with their friends on Facebook and teaching us how to handle the latest android, we suddenly realise that we have grown older. Sometimes, I am left wonderstruck at the speed at which they learn. When we were eight or nine years old, we were not allowed to touch the gramophone or the radio set in the house. The kids look at us with disbelief when we tell them that we had no TV, transistor radios, air conditioners, gas stoves and microwave ovens. The only source of music was the gramophone, which one had to wind up manually. On Wednesdays, the whole family gathered round the radio, to listen to the Binaca geetmala on Radio Ceylon, compered by Amin Sayani.

Like the last six years, a considerable portion of my time in 2013 was spent in visits to various courts and clinics. To refresh memories, the case filed against me pertains to my book India’s External Intelligence – Secrets of the Research & Analysis Wing (RAW), which was published in June 2007.  The case is yet to start and I now feel that the CBI, having realised that there is no evidence, is not really interested in pursuing it. In fact, the CBI lawyer is quite happy to prolong it as long as he can – he gets paid for every hearing. I have begun to realise that this is the main reason for such cases dragging on for years. The cases are given to lawyers who are related to or have a nexus with officials in the prosecuting agencies, such as CBI, Police etc, for whom it becomes a perpetual source of regular income.  Another reason for the long time taken in deciding cases is the fact that almost 100 cases are listed before the judge, in the High Court as well as the subordinate courts. It is impossible for any judge to devote adequate time to each case, and adjournments are granted even before they are asked for.

In addition to the case filed against me in the court of the CMM, and the one filed in the High Court to quash the proceedings, which Prashant Bhushan is handling, there are several others in the High Court and lower courts, stemming from cases filed by me, requesting for similar action against the authors of books and articles that I have used as reference material for my book and against the corrupt officials of RAW and SPG mentioned in my book.  Compared to the previous year, there were fewer hearings this year - 16 in the court of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, 16 in the High Court, four in the Information Commission and seven in the consumer forums. There is also a case in the Supreme Court, which is not directly connected to my own case. 

Last year, a case PIL was filed in the Supreme Court regarding the intelligence agencies – IB, RAW and NTRO- which are in fact functioning without any constitutional mandate, since none of them were created by an Act of Parliament. There is no parliamentary or judicial oversight and their funds are not audited. I had worked on this for almost two years and the draft was revised several times, in consultation with Prashant Bhushan, before it was filed in December 2012, on behalf of the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL). The then Chief Justice, Altamas Kabir, was most reluctant to admit it and raised trivial technical objections on three occasions before it was admitted in the fourth hearing on 11 February 2013.  A notice was issued to the Government to reply within six weeks. The MHA has filed the reply on 12 November, after nine months. The reply was entirely along expected lines, claiming that the organisations were not illegal, even if they had not been created by an Act or Ordinance.  However, some very interesting facts have come to light:-
·        The IB was created by a telegram dated 23/12/1887 from the Viscount Cross, the Secretary of State in London, to Lord Dufferin, the Viceroy in India, granting approval to a proposal to ‘collect secret and political intelligence in India’.
·        The RAW was formed on 12/09/1968 through an Office Memorandum, signed by the then Cabinet Secretary, DS Joshi. It was established as a wing of the Cabinet Secretariat and no Gazette Notification was issued on the subject. (Incidentally, the OM uses the abbreviation RAW, while everyone serving in that agency insists that the correct abbreviation is R&AW).
·        The expenditure on the head of RAW and his personal staff is met from the budget of the Cabinet Secretariat. The remaining expenditure, including that on cover posts in foreign countries, is met from the general budget of the MEA. For audit purposes, a certificate of proper utilisation is furnished by the Cabinet Secretary to the Foreign Secretary, who then certifies the utilisation of the entire amount. (This is akin to a CO giving a certificate to a company commander).  
·        The NTFO (later designated as the NTRO) was created vide a Cabinet Secretariat Notification dated 15/4/2004.
·        The budget of the NTRO is embedded in the overall budget of the MHA. An officer of the CAG posted to NTRO on deputation supervises the internal audit. There is no external audit.
In our petition, I had mentioned that the concept paper for the creation of RAW was written by Lt Gen MN Batra, who was then the DMI. I have written about this my book INDIA’S EXTERNAL INTELLIGENCE. Naturally, I had written this after discussions with Gen MN Batra, who went through the draft. This has been contradicted by the MHA, which claims that the blue print for the agency was submitted by RN Kao, then Deputy Director in the IB, and became the first Director of RAW. I am not surprised, because they rarely give credit to others even when there is documentary evidence to the contrary. According Gen Batra, the IB was not happy about the creation of RAW, as it resulted in curtailment of their powers as well as size. Until then, IB was responsible for external as well as internal intelligence. With the creation of RAW, external intelligence went out of their domain. Hence, their claim that RN Kao was responsible for the creation of RAW does not appear to be valid.

The genesis of the decision to create RAW lay in the 1962 conflict with China, when Indian intelligence failed to detect the Chinese build-up for the attack. Brig (later Lt Gen) MN Batra, who was then the DMI, recalls that he faced a lot of flak on this account and had quite a job explaining to everyone that the responsibility for strategic military intelligence across the border lay with the IB and not the Army. He argued that there was an urgent need to for an external intelligence agency and convinced the COAS, Gen JN Choudhury. Accompanied by Batra, Choudhury visited the UK and USA to see the functioning of their intelligence agencies. On their return, Batra was asked to write a paper on the subject.

MN Batra’s paper, which proposed the establishment of a foreign intelligence agency under the MOD, was put up to the PM through the Defence Minister, YB Chavan. She approved the creation of the agency, but decided to keep it under her own control instead of the MOD, as recommended in the paper. Incidentally, MN Batra was the DMI for 10 years, from 1961 to 1971. During this time, his cousin, Maj Gen (later Lt Gen) RN Batra was the Signal-Officer-in-Chief, from 1961 to 1966.

Another activity that I am involved with is the History of the Corps of Signals, Volume III, covering the period 1947-72, which I wrote between 2007 and 2010. It was formally released during the centenary celebrations of the Corps in February at Jabalpur in February 2011, but has still to be printed. Frankly, it has been a frustrating experience. For the last three years, the book has been going up and down, between three directorates – Signals, MI and MO. Now, it is not MI but MO that is dragging its feet. Last week, they have returned the manuscript again (for the umpteenth time), with some observations, including a few that pertain to the 1947-48 Kashmir operations!  The way things are going we may find history repeating itself – Volume I, written by Brig Tery Baretto in 1965, was published in 1975, ten years later.
The problem with my right eye still persists, with very little hope of improvement. As mentioned in my last newsletter, I had suffered from a haemorrhage in my retina in 2011, technically called BRVO. Even after nine injections – Avastin, Lucentis and Macugen – there is little improvement. An infected injection administered in RR Hospital caused almost total loss of vision, necessitating a PPV (pars plana vitrectomy). It was finally controlled with steroids, which have created other problems - increase in eye pressure and blood sugar levels. I still visit the RR Hospital and Shroff Eye Centre about once a month for check-ups. The left eye is also developing a cataract but I have been asked to delay its removal till the right eye shows some improvement.

 This year, we decided to go to Kashmir for our annual sojourn to the hills. I had served in J&K as the DAA&QMG of a brigade in 1978-79, but my daughter was then only a toddler and her own children had never seen Kashmir. The initial plan was for everyone to travel by air. But my son-in-law, Vaibhav, who is in the merchant navy, was very keen to do trip by road. Finally, the party was split in two – Kumud, Mauravi and her two daughters, Mriggya and Eshaana - decided to go by air, while Vaibhav and I went by road. To ensure that we reached before the girls arrived, we started a day earlier in my Innova. Starting early in the morning, we reached Udhampur in the evening at about 2000 hrs. We should have made it at least two hours earlier, but we missed the road to Pathankot at Jalandhar and reached Amritsar, from where we went via Gurdaspur. So, instead of 670 Km we had to do about 750 Km. Starting after breakfast next morning we made the remaining 240 Km to Srinagar in the afternoon, well in time for the flight from Delhi carrying the B Echelon.

Knowing the problems of security and movement restrictions, we had decided not stay in the cantonment and booked three rooms in a house boat on the Nagin Lake. We spent five days on the house boat, which was quite comfortable, except that every day, one had to navigate through the old part of the town with narrow streets to reach the place where it was berthed. The food served was very spicy, and even after several injunctions to the cook, things only improved marginally. We spent the next few days taking in the local spots, such as the Shalimar and Nishat gardens, Chasma Shahi, botanical gardens etc. We also made a day trip to Yusmarg, which was nothing to write home about. A couple of shikara rides and some shopping for spices in Lal Chowk rounded off the visit.

The next stop was Gulmarg, where we stayed for three days in a sub unit of Signals. The rooms were comfortable and since we were dining in the Officers Mess, we could get food of our choice. Of course, we did the mandatory gondola ride up to the hill top. It takes hours to buy a ticket and then wait in a queue to board, but thanks to a separate quota for the Army, we did not have to wait very long. The top was covered with snow and it was an enjoyable trip, especially for the kids. The next day was spent in a trip to Aasha and Budh Pathri, located close to the LOC, where the local units treated us with the ubiquitous tea and pakoras. The last day was spent at the Children’s Park, where we found that most of the swings and merry go rounds were occupied by adults, with the children standing around with long faces. My daughter finally had to intervene, pointing to the sign boards that read that they were only to be used by children.

From Gulmarg we went to Pahalgam. Since the Amarnath yatra was on, the place was heavily crowded. We had booked three rooms in a hut in a complex about 7 Km from Pahalgam on the road to Aru, called River Front. It comprised a cottage with 5 rooms located on the bank of a fast flowing stream which joins the Lidder River. There were no other guests and we had the whole cottage to ourselves. There was almost no habitation nearby and the girls were a little worried. But I was carrying my .30 Winchester carbine, which I do on most trips, especially while camping or trekking.

Except for one day when it was raining, we spent most of the time outdoors. It was a wonderful place and one could spend hours just sitting on the river bank. We made trips to the Betaab Valley and Pahalgam town for shopping, pony rides as well as lunch (the cook at River Front was terrible and so was his food). We tried to light a camp fire at night but the wood being wet, there was more smoke than fire and we had to give it up and go indoors.

On the last day, we moved to Srinagar, from where the flyers were to catch an early morning flight. We spent the night in the signal regiment located next to the airport and after seeing off the others in the morning, Vaibhav and I left by road at about 1000 hours. We had made arrangements for a night stay at Udhampur but decided to drive on to Pathankot, where my nephew was posted in a mechanised infantry battalion. After spending the night with him, we left next morning for Gurgaon. The journey was uneventful, except a mysterious object that hit the windscreen when we were driving from Hoshiarpur towards Chandigarh. Since the road had almost no traffic and we were doing more than 100 Kmph, we could stop only after travelling 50-60 metres. Fortunately, the windscreen had not shattered, and the damage was on the left side. Since the driver’s vision was not blocked, we decided to carry on. We tried to find out the reason but could not. There were no stones in the vicinity, and neither was there any hut or shop from where someone could have thrown a stone. This is not the first time this has happened to me. During the Himalayan Rally in 1983, the windscreen of our jonga was smashed when a miscreant pelted a large stone and then vanished in the darkness. We spent precious rally time at the next halt trying to get it replaced by the EME detachment. Finally, failing to fix it in the slot, they just placed the windscreen in front and welded metal clamps on the corners to hold it in place. In 1995, while driving from Delhi to Simla for a holiday, the windscreen of my Maruti Omni was broken by a pebble kicked up by the rear wheel of a truck in front. I had to stop in Panipat and get a new windscreen, which took a couple of hours.  

We are still staying in Gurgaon, in Palam Vihar. My son Abhimanyu, his wife Jasmine and their two children, Bhuvanyu (10) and Khushi (8) live on the first floor. My daughter Mauravi had shifted last year from Icon to Hextex Commune opposite the DLF course, because her two daughters, Mriggya (10) and Eshaana (8) go to the American Excelsior School which is located nearby. Her hubby, Vaibhav is now a Captain in the merchant navy. He is presently sailing but may be home for the New Year.

There is little change in our routine. I go to the gym in the DSOI, which is a stone’s throw from my house, at 0700, returning at 0745 or so. Kumud goes at 0830 and returns only when the gym closes at 1000. By this time I have gone through my newspapers, had my bath and my breakfast and am ready to leave for the Corps History Cell in Signals Enclave, the hospital or on some other errand. I find that with the increase in the number of gadgets we use in the house, every week one or two go off road and need repairs.  On the days I have a court hearing, I have to give the gym a miss.

Two major events that have taken place in December are the passing of the Lokpal Bill in Parliament and the arrival of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on the political scene after the Assembly Elections in Delhi. Since I was associated, in a small way, with both, I cannot resist the urge to say thing about these development. From 2010 to 2012, I used to go to the rallies and meetings organised by Parivartan and IAC for the Lokpal Bill. I attended almost all the rallies held at Jantar Mantar and Ram Lila Maidan including the ones when Anna Hazare came on board. Incidentally, the first major rally organised by Arvind Kejriwal was in Ram Lila Maidan on 30 January 2011, where the salient points of the proposed Lokpal Bill were explained by Prashant Bhushan and others. I recall that Shanti Bhushan, Justice Hegde, Ram Jethmalani, Swami Agnivesh, Medha Patkar,  Kiran Bedi and several others spoke from the dais, where I was also sitting.  From there, we marched to the Jantar Mantar, where the Rally ended. It was only after this that Arvind Kejriwal decided to involve Anna Hazare and invited him to Delhi to become part of the agitation. The rest, as they say is history. So, the agitation for the Lokpal was started NOT by Anna, as most people think, but by Arvind Kejriwal, Prashant Bhushan, Shanti Bhushan, Justice Santosh Hegde etc, who also drafted the bill. Of course, the movement got national recognition and support only after Anna came on the scene.

I would also like to mention some details of the meeting that was held in the Constitution Club on 19/9/2012, which led to the break between Anna and the Kejriwal’s team. It was a closed door meeting, so the media was not allowed inside. After the meeting, the horde of journalists surrounded Anna and questioned him about what happened. Though he had agreed to the formation of a political party after the fast by Kejriwal, Sisodia and Gopal Rai in July-August 2012 (which Anna joined after a few days), it was only after the Constitution Club meeting that he clearly stated that he was against forming a political party but others were free to do so if they liked. However, he stressed that they should not use his name anywhere, including their caps, which everyone had been wearing since his fasts. I was present at both venues, and I found his volte face surprising.

There were about 50 people in the meeting, which started at 1000 and finished at about 1900. The aim of the meeting, as announced by Yogendra Yadav, who was conducting it, was to apprise Anna of the views of the members, and obtain his decision on whether or not to form a political party, which had been announced a month earlier, after the fast at Jantar Mantar. The prominent persons who attended the meeting were Justice Hegde, Shanti Bhushan, Prashant Bhushan, Dharmadhikari, Anupam Kher, Prasoon Bajpai, Kiran Bedi etc. There were also a few army veterans – Major Katoch, the MLA from Dharamshala (HP), Colonel Baisla and me. In addition, there were a few independent MLAs and some people from Maharashtra who were close to Anna. In this meeting, Kejriwal sat on the side lines, like the rest of us, and spoke very little.

Everyone was given about five minutes to speak, and give his views and his vote. Most people were of the view that we must form a political party. The prominent exceptions were Justice Hegde, Kiran Bedi, Dharmadhikari and Admiral Tahliani. The people from Maharashtra were also against it, as they felt that the ongoing agitations at district and taluka level would peter out if Anna left the State. Anna also said that if he joined politics, he would be going back on his word that he would not join politics, and his standing among the people of his home state would go down. There were also objections on the grounds of non availability of funds, shortage of time, lack of infrastructure and so on. Finally, Shanti Bhushan, who had been one of founder members of the Janata party that came to power in 1977, described his own experience, setting at rest all such doubts. He explained how the party was formed, even through JP was unwilling and voiced the same fears that Anna was doing today. Yet, they managed to raise the party without spending any money in a matter of six months and swept the polls. All that was needed was a wave like the one that happened in 1977, which swept everything before it. Very few people believed him, but in hindsight, Shanti Bhushan was not wrong, as the Delhi elections have shown.

It was not my intention to make this a political newsletter, but once you start, it is difficult to stop. If Anna had shown some courage and agreed to the formation of a political party, or least given it his blessings, I am sure the Aam Admi Party would have done even better and got a clear majority in Delhi. In any case, their performance has been unprecedented. This must be the first instance of a person becoming the Chief Minster of a State after his debut as an MLA.

Incidentally, this is my eighth newsletter (the first one was sent in 2006).  Those who wish to read the previous ones can do so by logging on to my blog http://veekaysnewsletter.blogspot.com.

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, 9899110913
25th December 2013
Pahalgam, Kashmir, July 2013


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