[BARC, Trombay]
Washington Post carried a story Nov 23 about a supposed attempted assasination of the Khalistani activist in North America, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, that apparently was foiled by US agencies. And how a disturbed President Joe Biden brought up this matter with the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi when the latter was on a state visit to the US in June this year, and demanded of Modi that those responsible for planning the hit be hauled up. This episode has come to public notice only now — meaning it was leaked to the press by some one in the Biden Administration at this time almost as as if in support of the Canadian PM Justin Trudeau’s charge made a few months back that there was an official Indian hand in the killing of the Khalistani extremist Gurpreet Singh Nijjar in Surrey, in the western province of British Columbia.
More to the point, US National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson huffed to the Post that “We are treating this issue with utmost seriousness, and it has been raised by the U.S. government with New Delhi. And added that “Indian counterparts expressed surprise and concern,” and “stated that activity of this nature was not their policy.” And that the Modi regime would look into it.
MEA spokesman Arindam Bagchi reacted by confirming that Washington had, in fact, “shared some inputs” regarding the “nexus between organized criminals, gun runners, terrorists and others” that he suggested as the probable cause of the failed assasination, but asserted that “India takes such inputs seriously” and that the “necessary follow-up action” would be taken. This official Indian reaction was labeled “oblique” by the Post.
Firstly, Bagchi may care to educate the Washington Post correspondent in New Delhi, George Shih, that ‘Shri’ is an honorific like ‘Mr’, and not part of the name his parents gave him — which mistake was doubtless part of Shih’s eye-catching contribution to the Post story!
But seriously, God knows, go anywhere in the world, find two Sikhs or two Indians for that matter, and you’ll discover three political and social factions, and because all intra-Punjabi NRI interactions tend to be heated, or get heated soon enough, an exchange of choicest abuses followed by someone pulling a gun or a knife is not unheard of. This being the Indian diasporic reality, why did Bagchi in a sense recant his original and entirely plausible explanation of the purported assassination attempt against Pannun, by promising that the Indian government would look into into US allegations? What’s there to look into? Canadian newspapers in areas of large Sikh presence are full of local news stories of turbaned/mona sardars presiding over crime syndicates and running around killing each other right and left in gang wars as occurred during the heyday of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale’s “reign of terror” in Punjab.
Without speculating about the reasons why Washington sought to publicise this episode at this time, let’s consider what the Indian government’s correct response should have been. On the topic of political assasinations isn’t the complaint by the US a bit rich? Or, are we all inhabiting Pollyanna-land? Why are Americans, like the Canadians earlier, getting hot under their collars about Pannun — the object of a likely Sikh dissenter who wanted to bump him off?
Assassination is a staple of all intelligence agencies throughout history. Arthashastra and Suntzu’s writings, in fact, discuss in detail when and where to carry them out, and how. In the modern day, US Central Intelligence Agency, UK’s MI6, France’s Direction Generale de la Securite Exterieure, Russia’s KGB ( Komitet gosudarstvennoy bezopasnosti) and its external succesor agency — Foreign Intelligence Srvice (SVR), China’s Ministry of State Security and, of course most notably, Israel’s Mossad, are leaders in the field.
Hence, Bagchi should have been instructed to shut the Washington Post reporter up by recalling for him the CIA assasination in September 1973 of the leftist Chilean President Salvador Allende. And Modi should have followed up privately with Biden, and Jaishankar publicly, by demanding of the White House, even if very belatedly, investigations into the CIA’s killings of Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri in January 1965 and, a mere 16 days later, of the Indian nuclear visionary and chairman of the atomic energy commission, Dr Homi J Bhabha alongwith with a whole bunch of innocent passengers on board the January 24, 1965, Air India flight AI 101, Bombay-Geneva, that crashed on Mount Blanc courtesy a timed explosive put in the plane’s cargo hold by a CIA agent.
That CIA agent was Robert Trumbull Crowley, who retired as Assistant Director of Clandestine Operations in CIA and was second in command of the Agency’s Directorate of Operations (Wikipedia). Crowley admitted these heinous killings.
Known as the “Crow” in the Agency, Crowley confessed to journalist Gregory Douglas about these hits a little before his death in 1993, confessing perhaps because of feelings of remorse, or to salve his conscience, or whatever. These confessions, by the way are in Douglas’ 2013 book — Conversations with the Crow, published by Basilisk Press (which can be downloaded at https://ia601409.us.archive.org/12/items/conversations-with-the-crow-pdf/conversations-with-the-crow-pdf.pdf ).
But let the Crow do the talking on these targeted assassinations.
By way of context, the Crow avers: “We had trouble, you know, with India back in the ’60s when they got uppity and started work on an atomic bomb…the thing is, they were getting into bed with the Russians.” Referring to Homi Bhabha, he says: “That one was dangerous. He had an unfortunate accident. He was flying to Vienna to stir up more trouble when his Boeing 707 had a bomb go off in the cargo hold, And they all fell on a high mountain in the Alps. After that, no real evidence left, and the world became much safer ….”.
Referring to Shastri, Crowley said, revealing his pathological racism: “Well, I call it as I see it. At the time, it was our best shot. And we nailed Shastri as well. Another cow-loving raghead. Gregory, you say you don’t know about these people. They were close to getting a bomb, so what if they nuked their deadly Paki enemies? So what? Too many people in both countries. Breed like rabbits and full of snake-worshipping twits. I don’t see what the Brits wanted in India for the life of me. And then threaten us? They were in the sack with the Russians, I told you. Maybe they could nuke the Panama Canal or Los Angeles. We don’t know that, but it is not impossible.”
And he added, mistakenly, about Shastri that he was: “A political type who started the program in the first place. Babha was a genius, and he could get things done, so we aced both of them. And we let certain people know there was more where that came from. We should have hit the chinks, too,
while we were at it, but they were a tougher target.”
By publicly asking for an investigation by the US government now, New Delhi will achieve several things. Firstly, it will publicize assasssinations as a part of the espionage business, one in which the CIA and intelligence agencies of other Western powers have excelled, and for whom it has been routine activity. Secondly, it will signal Washington to not act holier than thou. And, lastly, it will send an unalloyed warning to Pannun and others desiring Khalistan that they are safer demanding a sovereign Sikh state carved out of Canada, the US and UK where the bulk of them presently reside and there is ample land (in the first two countries mentioned) to accommodate their ambitions, than ever again even thinking of Punjab.
Just so no one thinks that the programme of assasinations is passe, in recent years, according to the indian government, 9 — count nine! — Bhabha Atomic Research Centre nuclear scientists, including two very promising young radiochemists, have died mysteriously. Refer “The Strange Disappearance of India’s Nuclear Scientists”, an October 12, 2021 published in the online magazine ‘Unrevealed Files’ at https://www.unrevealedfiles.com/the-strange-disappearance-of-indias-nuclear-scientists/ . Connect these killings with the 1994 espionage case lodged against Nambi Narayanan heading ISRO’s cryogenic rocket engine project, that delayed India’s getting the cryogenic rocket engine by a decade, and one espies a pattern of strategic sabotage mostly by the in-system Indian collaborators of foreign powers.
The CBI found the case against Dr Narayanan to be absolutely false/ The two main culprits pushing it were, curiously, the Directors General of Police of Gujarat and Kerala, no less, R.B. Sreekumar and Siby Mathew, respectively! Sreekumar and Mathew instead of being drawn and quartered, or executed, or rotting in jail, faced no real punishment and are presumably living out their lives on their ill-gotten gains.
Shouldn’t the National Security Adviser Ajit Doval of the Indian Police Service, whose parent cadre is Kerala Police, do something about incarcerating for life these two treasonous crooks and service mates of his — Mathew and Sreekumar, to make an example of them for the horde of 5th columnists active within the Indian system?
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The still larger point to highlight is this: Why does GOI/MEA go weak in the knees and rush into a defensive pose when dealing with the US Government, when they have every right and duty to go on the offensive? After all, as I keep reminding everyone, it is the US that needs India more in the emerging China threat-centric world order in the Indo-Pacific, NOT the other way around, The Indian government’s getting so basic a geostrategic appreciation wrong is really troubling.
Security Wise 
Professor, the fact that India has started these targeted assassinations in the U.S. is a change from past behaviour. How the MEA sugar coats the information is immaterial. There is a change in world order happening and many in the US do not like it. Such leaks and attempts to weaken India will be par for the course.
Frankly, India should not care for such articles in the WaPo or any other such U.S. outlets. And be diplomatic when guys like Biden bring it up. India needs the U.S. for many things – so shake hands with with the right hand, and use the left hand to slap it when required. This is how the U.S. has treated India, and it is time it got a taste of its own medicine.
well for one thing is that india’s whole digital economy depends on USA
mostly india’s middle income people are from services sector which depend largerly on american companies and not to forget the whole digital ecosystem of american companies on which many livelihoods depend
india isnt like china where usa has to depend on indian companies mercy for cheap products
I suppose that Shastri was bumped off by the USSR intelligence (KGB) to bring Indira to power.
The Soviets had cultivated Indira for a long time and having her occupy the top seat in India enabled the USSR government to mint Billions through arm sales to India.
Intelligence agents have a habit of exaggerating events while I believe Crowley’s account about CIA behind Dr. Homi J Bhaba’s assassination. I think he bluffed regarding CIA’s hand in Shastri’s untimely demise.
Modi should order the elimination of Pannun on American soil. This will teach Uncle Sam a lesson it will never forget.
Bharatji,
Will Modi make any meaningful economic reforms post 2024 elections ?
This Sikh nonsense can only be milked so much. There cannot be any Balakot in future becasue of China.
They built a great stadium in Ahmedabad and named it Narendra Modi.
BCCI is the richest sporting body in the world and India has a good talented Cricket Team. Still these Gujju Banias did not had the courage to play fair game during the finals. They brought a old low slow pitch for the finals and fell in their own trap. Cummins won the toss and choice of bowl first. The match got decided there only.
India may have won the match, if they had brought in a new pitch. All this despite the fact that India had a great talented team.
One of the great disappointments of Modi’s two terms, considering his election promises, is that he made no “meaningful” changes in the system. As I argued in my 2018 book — Staggering Forward: Narendra Modi and India’s Global Ambition (Penguin), Modi is too much a statist committed to government by babus to channel the country into fast-paced 10%+ growth. Without reducing the role of government in the economy and major regulatory reform the country will only plod on as it has been doing.
Professor, it is true that Modi has not reduced government influence in the economy and governance and failed in bringing through some major reforms. However, I keep reading about the fantasy of 10% economic growth as if that is something that CAN happen or WILL happen.
First of all, economic growth is roughly working population growth plus productivity growth. Indian working population growth has declined, and people who study these trends like Ruchir Sharma indicate that if India grows by 5% or thereabouts, it is doing well.
Secondly, the 10% number is thrown around as China grew by that rate or more for two decades. But we all know that that growth rate was overstated by 2-3% every year. So yes, let’s moderate comparative expectations.
Finally, such high growth rates can be enabled, when global growth rates are also high. Currently, that is far from reality.
There is a lot of press in India which gets fixated on the magical 10% number. But let’s be real professor, we are not talking about fufu dust here! For someone to claim 10% growth is possible, I would challenge them to present the math.
Loved this. True to Bharat Karnad style and commendable courage to call a Spade a Spade, without mincing words. This is exactly and the only quality missing in the present generation of analysts
@ Bharatji,
What is the overall plan of RSS and Modi ?
Both BJP and Congress have their core base of 20%. Apart from that during 2014 and 2019 elections mostly Middle Class Hindus/Indians voted for BJP because of the promise of economic reforms and good jobs
At present the economic model of Modiji is very similar to Congress. The model is How to get economic growth from top 10-20% of population, so as to redistribute to the bottom 20%. But this bottom 20-30% of population, who is the beneficiary of Modi’s socialism has not voted for BJP during 2019 elections. This model is going to exhaust itself in 3-4 years. In the middle 40% of Indian/Hindu population there is a great thirst or desire of good/decent Jobs. No such kind of jobs have been created. There is a limit of how many number of times polarisation through riots can work.
Modi/BJP may won 2024 elections. But post 2024 elections, I think Modi will run out of options and bottom 40%’s patience may collapse.
Bharatji,
Why has Modi destroyed the political careers of Vasundhara Raje, Yediyurrapa, Shivraj Singh etc ? Modi fears strong local leaders of his own party so much as to ruin their career. It does not matter even if BJP looses elections. A strong local leader with grassroot support may challenge modi in future.
Most likely BJP will loose Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh because Modi destroyed any kind of local leadership in these states. Modi/BJP lost Karnataka earlier because of this. BJP was not able to win West Bengal because BJP did not declare a local candidate as a CM face. Post Modi, BJP will face a severe political crisis because Modi has not nurtured any local leadership is any state.
Bharatji, please shed some light on why Modi is not allowing any kind of strong leaders to emerge in any Indian state ?
No strong leader likes a peer rival, even less someone within his own party or fold (Nehru, Indira Gandhi, now Modi)
Nehru and Indira wanted to convert Congress into their family fiefdom. They did it. But Modi has no children. Even if he did had some, still it is not possible to convert RSS led BJP into a family firm. No matter how strong or great a leader might be, it is not possible to convert BJP into a family firm.For How long does Modi want to rule ? At some point Modi has to retire because of age, then BJP will not have any credible leaders in any state left. But RSS/BJP combine has a very professional cadre at grassroot level. They will bounce back.
This is what the libral media of our country says but look at the facts!!
– Yediyurrapa is 80 years old, How can you call him a competetion for modi and ofcourse modi is not gonna make a 80 year old man CM of an important state like Karnataka
– Shivraj Singh is just 64 years old and he is one of the RSS favourite boy and a very sharp politician , has served as a CM for 17 years, the reason he is not projected as CM face is because of anti-incumbency, he is playing a longer game and not going anywhere, he will be in the race in 2029
– Vasundhara Raje, NO one in rajasthan likes, she has done Zero development and has no vision for development of state ler alone country😂, She recently came to my town in rajasthan and there were just 500 people and the fact that she forgot that there was a ralley to be attended. There is zero difference between her governance and gehlot’s govenance and the fact that all the babus are the same in both govt’s. Even when she is CM she is taking no meetings most of them are done by her secretary, drinking most of the time (as it is roumered) . The lutynes thinking that she is a contender for PMs race and in any way a competition to Modi is laughable.😂
I would do a far better job as PM of this country than Raje, i even got a vision and todo list like:
– Supplying nuclear wepons to Vieatnam
– Continued Testing of Necular Wepons
– Firing people in DRDO, who are not delivering results
– Stealing Jet enginer technology from Foreign countries for AMCA
– Colour Revolution type of thing for Maldives
– Asking Indian companies to build 50 submarines (at least)
etc
dhairya@ — Interesting views with most of which I would agree, excepting when you say, ” Stealing Jet enginer technology …”. In contrast to almost all other Indians my understanding is that “technology cannot be transferred”, or for that matter “stolen – it is not a commodity as such, rather it is scientific expertise in some field”. Technology has to be “learned” or “mastered” first (from whatever source). It is only then it can be implemented in practical terms to build or manufacture hardware.
seems like this is answer to your previous post , why India bought Stryker. Unless our govt takes proper stand and not succumb under US pressure, India can never be self reliant
Email from Vice Admiral Satish Soni (Retd), former FOCINC, Eastern Naval Command
Tue, 28 Nov at 6:12 am
Thanks sir.
So much I didn’t know!!!
satish
https://carnegieendowment.org/2023/11/27/completing-u.s.-india-civil-nuclear-agreement-fulfilling-promises-of-summer-long-past-pub-91043
whats your opinion on this sir?
A lot of hooey and nonsense (the usual stuff produced by US thinktanks, like Carnegie, now also ensconced in Delhi)! Almost all the negative predictions (made by PK Iyengar, AN Prasad, A Gopalakrishnan, Bharat Karnad in their 2009 book — Strategic Sellout: US-Indian Nuclear Deal) have come true!
Bharatji,
There are large number of Indians/Hindus working in gulf/middle east. They may face deportations/problems if there are some riots against muslims in India. Elections are nearby and Modi looks to be a bit weak and desperate.
Many Pakistani podcasts have started saying such kind of things.
Do you think such a kind of thing can happen ?
Unlikely.