The Khalistan Conspiracy - A Former R&AW Officer Unravels (The Path to 1984)

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About the Book What was the final solution to the Punjab/Khalistan problem that the 1 Akbar Road group wanted? Why was the hope of a negotiated settlement with moderate Akali Dal leaders kept dangling till the very end of May 1984, a few days before Operation? Blue Star was launched? How did the R&AW, for which Sikh extremism and Khalistan were non-issues till the end of 1979, suddenly get involved from the end of 1980? Why were other comparatively less harmful solutions to capture Bhindranwale? from the Golden Temple complex overruled?

'All this, as well as my own experiences in the days following Operation Blue Star - during and after the November 1984 anti- Sikh pogrom in Delhi and other cities of India - has been narrated here in as dispassionate a manner as possible. This book is a painful revelation of a high-level conspiracy that resulted in the death of thousands of innocent persons and created a gigantic problem out of a hitherto non-existent issue - that of Khalistan.'

About the Author The author, a former Special Secretary of India's external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), examines a series of interconnected events that led to the rise of the Khalistan movement, Operation Blue Star, the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984 and the anti-Sikh violence unleashed thereafter. With a timeline that moves from seven years before to a decade after 1984, the book strives to answer critical questions that continue to linger till today.

The narrative moves from Punjab to Canada, the US, Europe and Delhi, looking to sift the truth from the political obfuscation and opportunism, examining the role that the ruling party allegedly played, and the heart-rending violence that devoured thousands of innocent lives in its aftermath.

Preface My Two and a half years' tenure at Gangtok, Sikkim, as station head of India's external intelligence agency, the Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW) of the cabinet secretariat, was rather hectic. I was there from August 1973 to February 1976. In addition to covering trans-border intelligence on Tibet and China, we were . entrusted with a highly sensitive and landmark operation relating to Sikkim's merger with India. The operation was undertaken upon personal instructions from Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to the founding chief of the R&AW, R.N. Kao. On the ground, it was carried out by a specially created three-man top-secret cell, headed by me.

The sophistication of that operation may be judged by the fact that even its main target - the former Chogyal - whom I met at frequent intervals to brief him on matters related to Tibet-China, did not know about my link to it. Till the end, he and his family members continued to blame the Intelligence Bureau (IB) for their troubles. As a result of that operation, Sikkim became the twenty-second state of the Union of India through the Thirty- sixth Constitutional Amendment in May 1975. I wrote about the details of that operation in my book Sikkim: Dawn of Democracy, The Truth Behind the Merger with India (Penguin Random House India, 2018).

With the post-merger issues sorted out, I left Gangtok in February 1976 for New Delhi to prepare myself for my next posting as first secretary at the High Commission of India in Ottawa, Canada. I was expected to reach Ottawa by June 1976, but for reasons explained in chapter 1, I could join my new post only in September. I was in Canada for three years and returned to New Delhi in October 1979. During my time in Canada I visited almost all the major cities from east to west, an expanse of over 5,000 km with six different times. zones, some more than once. I took one month's leave in July 1978 and travelled from Ottawa to Vancouver across the prairies, and then drove southwards along the west coast of the US to Yuba City, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, and down to San Diego and back to Ottawa by re-entering the prairies at Winnipeg. During those trips I met several old friends and relatives and developed new friends and contacts, with who I remained in touch even after my return to New Delhi.

Introduction An objective assessment by future historians of Indira Gandhi's role as prime minister of India would not be complete without a closer scrutiny of two of her most controversial decisions - promulgation of National Emergency (26 June 1975 to 21 January 1977) and Operation Blue Star (4 to 8 June 1984).

The circumstances under which these decisions were taken and their implications for the nation will be discussed and debated for a long time to come. A couple of things are common between the two - both were taken by Indira Gandhi to retain power, without much concern about their short- to long-term implications for the country, and the government machinery was misused for furthering her personal/family and party interests. But one significant difference between the two was that while the decision to implement the Emergency was taken at short notice, Operation Blue Star was the tragic culmination of a decision taken years before the event, in early 1980.

The purpose of this book is to unravel the truth behind the developments leading to Operation Blue Star and its aftermath. However, it is also pertinent to briefly share some of the hitherto unknown facts about events immediately preceding the imposition of National Emergency on 26 June 1975, which came to my knowledge.

On 12 June 1975, Justice Jagmohan Sinha of Allahabad High Court countermanded Indira Gandhi's election from Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constituency on grounds of misuse of government machinery and debarred her from contesting elections for the next six years. She challenged the verdict in the Supreme Court. On 24 June, Justice V.R. Krishna Ayer granted her a partial stay on the high court's order till her appeal was finally decided. She was allowed to remain as prime minster, but the order stated, 'she will neither participate in the proceedings in the Lok Sabha nor vote nor draw remuneration in her capacity as Member of the Lok Sabha'.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages