RN Kao's Major Feats
Bangladesh Creation:
R.N Kao’s role in creation
of Bangladesh has been
widely commented upon.
Emergence of Bangladesh
was a
development of great
import in
stabilizing Indian
security in
north-east. It is a
different issue
that the leaders who
followed
Mrs. Indira Gandhi bungled
and
Bangladesh became a factor
in
destabilising north-east.
RAW was only 3 years old
when it was confronted to
respond
to the crisis brewing in
the
then East Pakistan.
Decision of
Pakistan government in
January
1968 to prosecute 28
Bengali leaders
in Pakistan created
political
turbulence in its eastern
wing.
Soon thereafter Pakistan
launched a campaign of
genocide
against Bengali Muslims.
Refugees started entering
India.
Pt. RN Kao, ably assisted
by his
two colleagues, Messers
Sankaran Nair and Girish
Chander
Saxsena sized up the
scenario.
The idea of training and
equipping
the cadres of Mukti Bahini
was evolved meticulously.
RAW built a huge network
of
operatives in East
Pakistan. So
thorough was RAW’s
intelligence
that IAF could do
precision-
bombing of the room in
which the East Pakistan
cabinet
was in session. Naval
Commandos
made mincemeat of
Pakistani
navy in Chittagong Harbour.
Americans were so
impressed by
the Indian intelligence
support
to the Mukti Bahini and
the subsequent
14-day Bangladesh
Liberation
war that the operation
was taught to West Point
Cadets.
Assets built by RAW proved
useful after 1975 also. RN
Kao
continued to keep an eye
on developments
in Bangladesh. He
had been informed by his
contacts
that three army officers-
Major Rashid, Major Farooq
and
Lt. Col. Usmani had met at
Ziaur-
Rehman’s house and were
planning a coup against
Sheikh
Mujib. Immediately, Kao
Sahib
went to Dhaka under the
cover
of a Pan exporter. Soon
after his
arrival he was driven to a
secret
house arranged beforehand.
Mujib was a little
perplexed on
why Kao could not have
come
to him officially. In
one-hour
meeting that Kao had with
Mujib, the latter remained
unconvinced that a coup
was in
the offing. Mujib was also
given
the names of suspects. He
laughed away the warning
saying,
“Kao Saab, these people
are
my children. They will
never do
me any harm. Please don’t
worry”. A few weeks later
Muib
was overthrown, 40 members
of
his family were slain
alongwith
him. RAW was able to stage
a
counter-coup but Col.
Musharraf could not
consolidate,
Gen. Zia-ur-Rehman assumed
the command.
Sometime later, Gen Zia-ur-
Rehman in his capacity as
Head
of State visited New
Delhi. In a
meeting with Mrs. Indira
Gandhi
in which Pt. RN Kao was
present
Gen. Zia is reported to
have remarked
that
“this man (referring
to Kao) knows more about
my country than I do”.
In 1983 when he was senior
advisor to Mrs. Gandhi he
persuaded
RAW to set up a historical
division to record the
role of
officers of RAW and DGS in
the
1971 war. However, after
he demitted
office in November 1984
the division was reported
to
have been wound up even
before
it could complete the
task.
‘Sikkim merger’:
Credit for merger of
Sikkim
also goes to Pt. RN Kao.
It was
he who warned Mrs. Gandhi
in
1974 of a possible coup in
Sikkim,
then ruled by profligate,
incompetent
Chogyl dynasty. The cold
war was at its height,
global and
regional situation was
fraught
with intrigue. US
President Nixon
was trying to access China
through its client state,
Pakistan.
Kao feared that the
imminent
overthrow of Chogyl would
turn
the strategic state,
sandwiched
between Tibet and Nepal
into a
Chinese/or US playground.
On
the basis of Kao’s timely
intelligence
and advice Sikkim was
merged as 22nd state of
India on
April 26, 1975. This drew
strong
reaction from China.
Relations with Mossad:
In view of commonality of
threats to India and
Israel, Mrs
Gandhi believed that the
relationship
between the intelligence
agencies of two countries
was
important to monitor
developments.
In Sept 1968 she asked
Kao to cultivate Israel’s
Mossad. India’s long
advocacy
of Palestinian/Arab cause
and
close relationship between
USA
and Pakistan made this a
difficult
assignment. As an
efficient
spymaster he was
successful in
establishing a clandestine
relationship
with Mossad. It is this
good work done by Kao that
is
paying dividends today
both in
terms of arms purchases
and
anti-terrorism inputs.
Soon after Kao established
link with Mossad, military
relationship
between Pakistan and
North Korea was
indentified as
threat. Second concern was
that
Pakistani Army officers
were imparting
training to Libyans and
Iranians to handle Chinese
and
North Korean military
equipment.
During Gen Zia-ul-Haque’s
time Pakistan had
initiated plans
to acquire Nuclear
capability.
While French assistance to
Pakistan
for plutonium reprocessing
plant was well-known, the
Uranium enrichment plant
at
Kahuta was a secret. Both
Israel
and India were alarmed
about
Kahuta plant. Israeli
Defence
Minister, General Moshe
Dayan
secretly visited Kathmandu
to
meet Indian
representatives. Pakistan
believed that the visit
was
connected with a joint
operation
to end Pakistan’s nuclear
programme. RAW officials
alerted Prime Minister
Morarji
Desai about General Zia’s
designs
to go ahead with Kahuta
plant. Till then RAW-Mossad
relationship was secret.
In an act
of indiscretion which
compromised
India’a security, the
repercussions
of which we are witnessing
today, Desai leaked out
RAW-Mossad relationship.
He
called Gen. Zia and told
him?,
“General, I know what you
are
up to in Kahuta. RAW has
got
me all the details. This
was done
at a time when Gen. Dayan
was
still in Nepal, holding
discussions
with India’s.”
Apprehensive about an
Indo-
Israeli attack on Kahuta
plant,
Surface to Air missiles
were
mounted around it. RAW’s
assets
in Pakistan got exposed.
At
the same time Pakistan
began engaging
Israelis through Americans
who assured Israel that
Pakistan’s nuclear
capability
won’t threaten Israel. The
latter
took off Pakistan from its
list,
concentrating on Iraq,
Iran and
Libyan schemes only.
General
Zia kept Israelis in good
humour
by developing relationship
with
Mossad, helping it by
providing
military information about
Libya,
Syria, Jordan, and Saudi
Arabia.
Good work done by Kao for
over
a decade was nullified by
a single
act of Morarji Desai. The
latter
was bestowed
‘Nishan-e-Pakistan’, Pakistan’s highest award
by General Zia himself.
‘Sri Lanka Operation’:
Post-1971 Sri Lanka was
posing
security problems for
India.
JVP insurrection had
jolted Sri
Lankan government. The
government
began shopping for
arms in international
bazar.
Around same time it put
into
opreation a policy of
systematic
persecution of native
Tamil minority.
This created serious
unrest
among the Tamil Nadu
population.
So long as Sirimavo
Bandaranaike headed the
government
Indian government had
little to worry.
India had been keeping
close
watch on Sri Lanka since
1971.
Indira Gandhi realized
that
India’s southern flank was
open
after Pakistani military
planes
used Katunayake for
refuelling
during their flight to
Dhaka and
the US sent its fleet to
the Indian
ocean. The watch was
intensified
after Jayewardene was
elected to power in 1977.
His foreign
policy tilted towards US.
In
July 1983 anti-Tamil riots
broke
out. During the riots
Mathew
Abraham, a deputy director
of
RAW posted in Colombo was
severely assaulted by
government
instigated mob. Anti-Tamil
riots created serious
tension in
Tamil Nadu. People started
demanding
direct Indian intervention
to protect Sri Lankan
Tamils.
Indira Gandhi began
putting
pressure on Jayewardene to
work out a political
solution with
the Tamils. She sent her
Foreign
Minister, PV Narsimha Rao
to
Colombo, who informed her
that
Sri Lankan government was
more
keen in subduing the
Tamils militarily
than in reaching an
accommodation
through negotiations.
Jayewardene’s request for
arms
from the US, UK, Pakistan
and
China deepened Indian
concern.
Pt. RN Kao who was then
Prime Minister’s Chief
Security
Advisor, told Indira
Gandhi that
any attempt by Jaewardene
for a
military solution would
create
security problems for
India and
lead to unrest in Tamil
Nadu. He
further informed her that
more
serious than these factors
would
be the influx of forces
inimical to
India into Sri Lanka. It
was
pointed out that
intelligence
agencies of US, UK,
Pakistani
and Israeli agents and
other military
interests would intrude
into
the region.
Kao impressed upon Mrs.
Gandhi that India’s best
option
remained to persuade
Jayewardene to talk to
TULF and
work out an accommodation
with
Tamils. In case it did not
work
then covert option i.e.
using
Tamil militant groups to
Sri Lanka
Govt pressurise was to be
put
into action. Mrs. Gandhi
accepted
the scheme. The covert
plan to
train and arm Tamil
militant
groups had a definitive
but limited
objective- ‘to
push
Jayewardene to the
negotiation
table and no more’.
It had to give
a signal to Sri Lankan
government
that the Tamils had the
powerful backing of India.
Kao
was associated with
implementation
of this plan. Tamil groups
were wary of the plan
because
they felt that the limited
Indian
objective would hinder the
objective
of Tamil Eelam. Indians
promoted TELO, while
radical
outfits e.g. PLOTE, LTTE,
EPRLF
were kept out for varying
reasons.
There has been little
debate
on why the conceived
schemes went haywire.
--(Compiled by Sentinel
Desk)
Source: Kashmir
Sentinel
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