By Seema Sengupta
That every nation state indulges in propaganda for sub-serving a larger strategic goal is an open secret. But the doctoring of dossiers by intelligence agencies to mold mass opinion in concurrence with an obliging media is something that the unsuspecting public in India were never used to before the deadly Sept. 11 attack that decimated the iconic twin towers in New York more than a decade ago. In fact, this facade of war on terror has virtually given an opportunity to the practitioners of espionage to bolster their quest for acquiring absolute freedom to do anything and everything in the name of supreme national interest. The gruesome summary execution of 19-year-old Mumbai college girl Ishrat Jahan by a group of security officials in a staged encounter on a desolate stretch of highway — miles away from her hometown — in the outer periphery of Gujarat’s Ahmedabad city remains a glaring exhibit of how monstrous the state apparatus can turn into if given a free run. Incidentally, the principal protagonists who were in charge of planning and executing this extra-judicial murder without a hitch happens to be the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) prime ministerial contender cum Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi’s trusted lieutenants. For those who are privy to Modi’s style of functioning, such violation of human rights, especially that of Muslims, is a normal phenomenon given the fact that this champion of Hindu fundamentalism shares with his mentors in the Rashtriya Sayamsevak Sangh, a chronic allergy toward anything related to Islam.
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It is therefore nothing unusual that the trigger happy police in Gujarat have found immense satisfaction in pumping 70 rounds of bullets into Ishrat’s body without any provocation from the other end. That too after the lady was subjected to continuous mental torture and sexual assault during illegal detention, as this author learned reliably from authoritative sources. But the involvement of a host of Intelligence Bureau (IB) officials, including a high-ranking one, adds a new twist to the tale and should raise a few eyebrows within the intelligence circuit. This is the same organization which attained notoriety for their blatant involvement in political manipulations by covert as well as overt means and destroying many a lives by planting false dossier of complaints against scores of innocent civilians. Of course their motto has been to violate the realm of ethics without getting exposed or caught red-handed in order to protect India’s sovereignty. But does that give them the divine right to extinguish the flame of life without judicial adjudication? It is indeed painful that the senior most official of the Intelligence Bureau, an adherent of Islam himself, is in a tearing hurry to tarnish Ishrat’s already injured reputation in spite of the fact that the Mumbai Police found nothing adverse against the young college girl. Unfortunately, officials working in this highly politicized secret state outfit are more interested in swearing loyalty to respective political godfathers rather than pledging allegiance to the Indian constitution. This has helped them to get away scot-free after committing malfeasance in the course of duty.
Moreover, an organization which itself is not a creature of law is bound to be attracted by political elements having the least respect for established statute. Hence, Narendra Modi, with his infamous penchant for rewarding the unruly and antipathy toward Islamic tradition, may have already become an unofficial boss for the security apparatus. The same paraphernalia is dying to launch a no holds barred attack on what they believe to be Islamic terrorism that has been supposedly threatening the very existence of India as a nation state.
Not many in India are even aware of the dark underbelly of espionage comprising money, drugs and arms dealings. Since, the intelligence outfits are not accountable to the Indian Parliament — the supreme chamber of people’s representatives, nor do they feel obligated to conduct an independent audit of the unspecified sum of tax payer’s money spent on them, all the secretive agencies have a vested interest in keeping the pot boiling to maintain this veil of secrecy. The fratricidal tension, often spinning into full-fledged fight over turf also has its root in their predatory attribute and lust for controlling money power. It is all about the hard cash that floats in air, confessed an undercover officer to this author. So, it was natural for the IB to embark on a media campaign, leaking information about Ishrat’s apparent terror links to justify the illegal acts of its staff members and creating an impression of the encounter-case investigators being influenced by the ruling Congress to checkmate the BJP. In the midst of all this arguments and counter-arguments, Ishrat’s poor mother crying for justice is made to run from pillar to post even as the political vultures circle overhead to reap electoral benefit. Intriguingly, the IB is banking on American undercover operative David Headley’s testimonial to buttress their theory of Ishrat being a suicide bomber of the Lashkar-e-Taiba militant outfit. The same Headley was in constant touch with Indian agencies, who even facilitated his surreptitious reconnaissance trips to India — the reason why Headley’s visa documents has gone missing from Foreign Ministry’s possession. The fact that IB was in the loop about Headley’s movement explains the real reason behind the sensational post terror-events “Headley said so” inputs being leaked to the media selectively. Ishrat, unfortunately paid the price for resembling an individual — in name and appearance — who was participating in a top secret mission on behalf of Indian secret service and her acquaintanceship with an IB agent.
[Seema Senguptais a Kolkata-based journalist and columnist]
(Courtesy: Arab News)
That every nation state indulges in propaganda for sub-serving a larger strategic goal is an open secret. But the doctoring of dossiers by intelligence agencies to mold mass opinion in concurrence with an obliging media is something that the unsuspecting public in India were never used to before the deadly Sept. 11 attack that decimated the iconic twin towers in New York more than a decade ago. In fact, this facade of war on terror has virtually given an opportunity to the practitioners of espionage to bolster their quest for acquiring absolute freedom to do anything and everything in the name of supreme national interest. The gruesome summary execution of 19-year-old Mumbai college girl Ishrat Jahan by a group of security officials in a staged encounter on a desolate stretch of highway — miles away from her hometown — in the outer periphery of Gujarat’s Ahmedabad city remains a glaring exhibit of how monstrous the state apparatus can turn into if given a free run. Incidentally, the principal protagonists who were in charge of planning and executing this extra-judicial murder without a hitch happens to be the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) prime ministerial contender cum Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi’s trusted lieutenants. For those who are privy to Modi’s style of functioning, such violation of human rights, especially that of Muslims, is a normal phenomenon given the fact that this champion of Hindu fundamentalism shares with his mentors in the Rashtriya Sayamsevak Sangh, a chronic allergy toward anything related to Islam.
Moreover, an organization which itself is not a creature of law is bound to be attracted by political elements having the least respect for established statute. Hence, Narendra Modi, with his infamous penchant for rewarding the unruly and antipathy toward Islamic tradition, may have already become an unofficial boss for the security apparatus. The same paraphernalia is dying to launch a no holds barred attack on what they believe to be Islamic terrorism that has been supposedly threatening the very existence of India as a nation state.
Not many in India are even aware of the dark underbelly of espionage comprising money, drugs and arms dealings. Since, the intelligence outfits are not accountable to the Indian Parliament — the supreme chamber of people’s representatives, nor do they feel obligated to conduct an independent audit of the unspecified sum of tax payer’s money spent on them, all the secretive agencies have a vested interest in keeping the pot boiling to maintain this veil of secrecy. The fratricidal tension, often spinning into full-fledged fight over turf also has its root in their predatory attribute and lust for controlling money power. It is all about the hard cash that floats in air, confessed an undercover officer to this author. So, it was natural for the IB to embark on a media campaign, leaking information about Ishrat’s apparent terror links to justify the illegal acts of its staff members and creating an impression of the encounter-case investigators being influenced by the ruling Congress to checkmate the BJP. In the midst of all this arguments and counter-arguments, Ishrat’s poor mother crying for justice is made to run from pillar to post even as the political vultures circle overhead to reap electoral benefit. Intriguingly, the IB is banking on American undercover operative David Headley’s testimonial to buttress their theory of Ishrat being a suicide bomber of the Lashkar-e-Taiba militant outfit. The same Headley was in constant touch with Indian agencies, who even facilitated his surreptitious reconnaissance trips to India — the reason why Headley’s visa documents has gone missing from Foreign Ministry’s possession. The fact that IB was in the loop about Headley’s movement explains the real reason behind the sensational post terror-events “Headley said so” inputs being leaked to the media selectively. Ishrat, unfortunately paid the price for resembling an individual — in name and appearance — who was participating in a top secret mission on behalf of Indian secret service and her acquaintanceship with an IB agent.
[Seema Senguptais a Kolkata-based journalist and columnist]
(Courtesy: Arab News)