Indian history is replete with betrayal to the country by its own people. Greed, jealousy and revenge have been the main causes of the betrayal. It is a nation of hypocrites, who are ‘saints’ during daylight hours but become ‘thugs’ when darkness descends! No wonder, the country had suffered vassalage for a millennium in the known history. It could be more if one scrambles into the ancient past.
The betrayal of Prithvi Raj Chauhan brought the Afghan marauders into India in 1192 AD. The betrayal of Rana Sangha at the Battle of Khanwa in 1526 brought Mughal rule to India. And, Mir Jaffar of Bengal had let down Nawab Sirajudaulla at the Battle of Plassey on 23 June 1757 to establish British rule in India. What about the downfall of the Sikh Empire in Punjab at the betrayal of Sikh Generals, Tej Singh and Lal Singh brothers, in the Anglo-Sikh Wars of 1845-48.
Ironically, Indian school books do not educate youth about such bits of history. As a result, India abounds in internal enemies, who keep conspiring against its unity and integrity. Greed, animosity and jealousy are the time-tested causes of such debauchery by Indians. Most Indians fall easy prey to temptations and lucrative offers by foreigners.
Bear Trap
Pakistan’s retired Brigadier Yousuf Mohammed narrates an incident in his book, “Bear Trap — Through Thousand Cuts”. It is noteworthy that Brigadier Yousuf was looking after the Afghanistan Desk in the ISI in the decade of 1980s and he was responsible for the procurement of arms for Afghan insurgents. It was done through the good services of CIA agents. Therefore, the CIA has a very good reputation for playing dirty tricks.
One day, Brigadier Yousuf got a consignment of one lakh rifles from his CIA agent. When he opened it, he was shocked because the consignment contained 7.62 SLR rifles of Indian make, from the Ishapore factory. He was surprised because India was not only Soviet Union’s friend but also friendly to the Afghan government of the time, against whom these weapons were to be used. When he quizzed a CIA agent, probably called Richard, Brig Yousuf was told by the CIA coordinator: “Indians are bastards. They would sell their mother for money.”
One day, Brigadier Yousuf got a consignment of one lakh rifles from his CIA agent. When he opened it, he was shocked because the consignment contained 7.62 SLR rifles made in India
It is sad but it tells one what Americans think of Indians. It is believed the consignment of Indian arms was organised by India’s military attaché in Washington — who was probably punished by a military court in India later.
The internal enemy is more dangerous than the external foe. In league with foreign conspirators, some Indians are working for nation’s disintegration. A plot has been unearthed in Bihar, whereby ‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’ conspiracy was being hatched. JNU is another place where internal conspirators abound. Short-sighted political parties keep mum on the anti-India activities of these people. Vote bank politics of these politicians is exploited by these internal enemies, on the payroll of foreigners.
Unnoticed book
Look at the revelations in the book “Conversations with the Crow” by Gregory Douglas. The ‘Crow’ is a man called Robert Crawley, who was second in command of the CIA, and handled its dirty tricks department in the 1960s. He spoke to Gregory Douglas about CIA’s worldwide covert operations in 1966. Accordingly, Gregory Douglas published this book in 2013.
The book has caused a storm in India, after a lapse of nine years. It is only after a Kashmiri journalist, Arti Tikoo, made some revealing tweets about the alleged assassination of Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri in 1966 and the murder of Dr Homi J Bhabha, a renowned Indian scientist, by the CIA, within 13 days of each other.
Robert Crawley, the Crow, told the author, Gregory Douglas, that both were killed because they were taking India towards making a nuclear bomb. This was unacceptable to the United States because, in US perceptions, the bomb would have been used against Pakistan, a US ally at that time. It was after a statement made by Dr Bhabha that India had the know-how to produce a nuclear bomb within 18 months of a green signal from the government.
Foul language
What is really shocking is the kind of language used by the CIA agent. About Dr Bhabha, the ‘Crow’ said that he was warned by the CIA but the “PRICK” did not care! He was killed by the CIA by blowing off the Air India plane over the Alps on 24 January 1966. Robert Crawley talks of the CIA had two options. One was to blow off the plane over Vienna, where Dr Bhabha was to attend a conference. The other option was to do it over the Alps mountains, which was safer and left no evidence.
‘Conversations with the Crow’ claims Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri was assassinated in 1966 and scientist Dr Homi J Bhabha was killed by the CIA within 13 days of each other
Lal Bahadur Shastri was allegedly poisoned by the CIA on 11 January 1966 in Tashkent. He called Shastri “COW LOVING RAG-HEAD”. Of the duo, he goes on to say, “Loud Mouthed Cow lovers thought themselves as great intellectuals”. About Indians, he talks disdainfully, “Breed like rabbits and full of snake worshipping Twits”. The book was published in 2013. Surprisingly, none in the Indian establishment took note of it. It is a poor comment on Indian intel agencies. Are they only good at following their political masters?
Honey trap
The case of ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan is another example of how insecure are Indian scientists. He was deliberately trapped in a sexual scandal and an espionage case through trumped-up charges. He was a rocket scientist and developed the Vikas Rocket engine. He was responsible for the development of the cryogen engine.
On 30 November 1994, Narayanan was arrested as part of an investigation into alleged espionage, by a team of Kerala police and Intelligence Bureau officials. The charges were based on the video graphed statements by a colleague that he and Narayanan had received money for transferring drawings and documents of rocket engines to two Maldivian women, Mariam Rasheeda and Fauzia Hassan, who were suspected to be spies. Fauzia Hassan was a Maldivian actress.
The two Maldivian ladies were accused of being conduits that would pass on defence information to Pakistan and shown to be funded by a Maldivian banker. In an interview with the Malayalam daily Malayala Manorama, Hassan claimed she was forced to accept the allegations against her when the investigators brought her 14-year-old daughter before her and threatened to rape her. The charges of suspected espionage could not be proved and the court let off the two women though they remained in prison in view of other suits pending against them.
The case of ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan is another example of how insecure are Indian scientists. He was trapped in a sexual scandal and an espionage case on fake charges
In 1996, charges against Nambi Narayanan were also dropped, when a CBI inquiry found nothing incriminating. It seems the whole thing was planned and executed by some vested interests at the behest of a foreign intelligence agency, though there is no such clear evidence.
Generally, in such covert operations, evidence is hard to come by though Nambi Narayanan thought that it was the agenda of the US to thwart the possible development of cryogenic engines by India. He blamed the CIA in his statement to the Kerala High Court. This was reported by the Special Correspondent of The Hindu on 6 August 2021. If one puts revelations made by the ‘Crow’ in the above-mentioned book, the claim of Nambi Narayanan cannot be dismissed.
Poor reflection
Such incidents are a poor reflection of Indian politicians, police and bureaucrats. Do not forget the Union Carbide case of Bhopal Gas Tragedy in December 1984 and the escape of its director, Anderson, in collaboration with the ruling establishment. What about the disappearance from Indian soil of late Octavio Quattrochi, who was accused in the BOFORS gun scandal of the 1980s. One feels sad about such incidents and does think that retired Brig Yousuf Mohammed of the Pakistan army had rightly quoted his CIA friend about India!!!
-An ex-NDA and Wellington Staff College graduate, Col Rajinder Singh is a renowned author and security analyst. He has authored four books, two individually and two in collaboration. His best-selling books are Kashmir – A Different Perspective and The ULFA Insurgency. The views expressed are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
