Media Commentary

Squinted view of The Quint

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When “The Quint” got it all wrong due to their Squinted Vision. They published a totally unverified report which is definitely Seditious and in gross violation of Official Secrets Act too. Attributing to sources (citing confidentiality is just a ruse). After the damage was done, called out very strongly by the Social Media – They retracted the story for Checking. Yes! Gold Standard rule of the Journalism practiced by The Quint – Publish, damage the Country, When called out, retract and then go for checking veracity of what they published.

 

Text Copy/Paste of the @TheQuint Page as it appeared at 20:43:12 on January 5th 2018 (Screenshot at the end of this report)

Two Ex-RAW Chiefs Did Not Want Kulbhushan Jadhav Recruited As Spy

CHANDAN NANDY
POLITICS

Senior RAW Officers Were Not in Favour of Jadhav

Speaking to The Quint, two former RAW senior officers, including one secretary who headed India’s external intelligence agency after 2008, said that the “proposal to recruit Jadhav for operations, whatever it’s worth, was ridiculous.”

In any case, a number of RAW sources, some serving and a few who retired over the past seven to eight years, revealed that Jadhav was “not a high-grade” operative with skills that other operatives recruited by the agency in other theatres had and used effectively to obtain intelligence.

Even as two RAW secretaries refused to hire his services, the proposal to recruit Jadhav for specific assignments was finally acceded to by a chief who headed the intelligence agency a few years ago and was subsequently re-employed (after retirement) in an organisation also involved in collecting intelligence.

This was among a few different attempts to launch renewed efforts to use human sources as “deep penetration” agents in Pakistan, where most intelligence assets, both HUMINT and SIGINT, were wound up during the prime ministership of IK Gujral in the late 1990s.

Evidence That Links Jadhav With RAW

While the sources were – understandably – wary about disclosing full details about Jadhav’s recruitment. The proposal to hire him on a temporary basis was prepared by his case officer (of the rank of deputy secretary, who is way below in the hierarchy) on the Pakistan desk. One former RAW officer, however, said that “it could be that the desk handling Iran and Afghanistan” was instrumental in recruiting Jadhav.

In any case, the recruitment was approved by a joint secretary as the supervisory officer. The RAW has a special unit which also undertakes parallel operations in certain crucial target countries for which it seeks out its own recruits.

The clearest evidence that Jadhav operated for the RAW came to the fore only after his cover – as a businessman who would frequent Iran, especially Chabahar – was blown and he was captured by the Pakistan, following which a former RAW chief, besides at least two other senior officers, called his Mumbai-based parents to “advise” them to not speak about their son’s case to anyone.

The other evidence was the second passport, with the name Hussein Mubarak Patel, that he carried, which shows that it was originally issued in 2003 and was renewed in 2014. The second passport (no L9630722) was issued in Thane on 12 May 2014 and was due to expire on 11 May 2024.

While one passport (no E6934766) is in his name, the second one raises more questions, especially the date of its issue and why he signed as Hussein Mubarak Patel to enter into a property deal (with his mother) in Mumbai where he lived with his parents, wife, and children before he was nabbed by the Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

Born in August 1968, Jadhav did work for the navy but prematurely retired and took to business, which would often take him to Iran. He was spotted as a potential recruit by an undercover RAW officer posted in Iran, who then subsequently shared this with a colleague at the agency’s headquarters. This second officer subsequently moved to send overtures to Jadhav, who accepted the terms and conditions.

How Was Jadhav Caught?

The nabbing of Jadhav, on 3 March 2016, itself throws up several questions, especially because Pakistan has maintained a degree of secrecy, if not ambiguity, about it. While the Pakistani intelligence had initially claimed that he was trapped in Saravan on the Iran-Pakistan border, a Baloch leader by the name Sarfaraz Bugti had disclosed at the time that Jadhav was held near Chaman in Balochistan.

The RAW sources, both former and serving, said that Jadhav would “go on assignments off and on” and he would undergo the mandatory “debriefing” each time he returned to India from his “visits to Balochistan” or when he volunteered to share information. He also went through a three-month training programme when he learned methods and means to transmit and/or send information.

However, sources said, Jadhav’s undoing was based partly on his unprofessionalism and partly because he was not a “career spy.” He did the unthinkable – instead of waiting to communicate with his case officer face-to-face, Jadhav would sometimes use “means over the air waves.” The ISI intercepted some of the communications and were also able to pinpoint his location, making it relatively easy for them to track and then nab him, sources said.

Standard Operating Procedure Skipped

“The botch-up was the result of unprofessionalism not only on the part of Jadhav but also his case officer,” one former special secretary, who conducted operations in some parts of West Asia, said. In this context, a former special secretary who handled the Pakistan desk till a few years ago, besides special operations in India’s neighbourhood, said that “Jadhav was no good” as he was “never in the thick of things, although he would claim he knew a lot of things and had sources in Pakistan.”

However, the former special secretary said that while RAW has many flaws, as a “matter of rule and unstated policy” no case officer should attempt to hire the services of an agent whose background in “tradecraft is not sound enough” and who is given to “bragging.”

In Jadhav’s case, while standard operating procedures may have been relaxed while recruiting him, sources said that his incarceration and the ambiguity surrounding his “work” does “have a lot of benefits.”

Several seasoned RAW hands said that while Jadhav’s case officer (deputy secretary) and the latter’s supervisory officer (joint secretary) recruited him for “reasons best known to them,” the standard practice in spycraft would have been to “have a Baloch or a Pakistani national” do the “intelligence gathering job for us.” He added that it was “foolish for to set an Indian the task to obtain intelligence from a country as hostile as Pakistan.”

Sources said that soon after Jadhav was trapped and caught in March 2016, a few records relating to payments made to him were destroyed, leaving “no trace” of his existence as far the RAW is concerned. But a former agency chief, who retired in the closing years of the previous decade, said, “No professional agency should have recruited him. I cannot even imagine that Jadhav was because it has been a disaster.”

He asked pointedly: “Every operation should have an objective. What huge intelligence or foreign policy objective was to be achieved by tasking Jadhav to operate in Balochitan?”

 

Also Read: Will India’s Raking up of the Shoes Episode Harm Jadhav’s Case?

 

(Breathe In, Breathe Out: Are you finding it tough to breathe polluted air? Join hands with FIT in partnership with #MyRightToBreathe to find a solution to pollution. Send in your suggestions to fit@thequint.com or WhatsApp @ +919999008335)

 

Screenshot of the Webpage as it appeared at the same time

Rearranged for better readability into two Columns

NGT – Not Good Try Again

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What does one do, when they go out of circulation and unnoticed for a long time? Piggy back on to something/someone popular – Exactly what NGT seem to be trying to implement to perfection these days. After their unwarranted and vengeful attempt to defame and derail  World Culture Festival, during which they were exposed by their own Expert Panel with Observations that cannot even be categorised as Amateurish, the recent “Selective” targeting of the Art of Living’s  Temple of Knowledge by the EKW Management Authority (EKWMA) comes in handy for them. Who better to piggy back than world renowned Spiritual Master & Guru of Joy Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji, the founder of Art of Living.

Since I am in the know about some facts and background of this project, thought this should be recorded here. Here we go…

First up, every single legal norms warranted by all concerned regulatory authorities has been complied with by the Vaidic Dharma Sansthan Trust of the Art of Living in respect of the Temple of Knowledge Project  

On Oct 25, 2017, Kolkata NGT, ordered the demolition of the Temple of Knowledge (ToK) – the structure owned by the Vaidic Dharma Sansthan (VDS) Trust by relying upon an order passed by the East ​Kolkata Wetlands Authority on the previous day i.e 24 October 2017, UNILATERALLY without even serving the same to VDS for it to deal with it legally. VDS has come to know of the said order of EKWMA through the Media. Basic premise and process of Natural justice is to afford an opportunity to all parties or atleast keep affected parties informed. Especially since VDS has all records and FACTS to prove that the order of EKWMA’s order is legally Void and Erroneous – which is well known to EKWMA and the NGT – (Was it the reason to go ahead and issue the order almost surreptitiously?)

It is pertinent to note here that the plot of the Trust has been categorised under the schedule to the East Kolkata Wetlands (Conservation and Preservation) Act 2006, as one in which Rural and Urban Settlement was allowed. The structure of the Trust was therefore perfectly legal and valid.

A cursory drive past would reveal existence of more than a thousand private and ​commercial projects, schools, colleges in the wetland area. Why is it that a Not for Profit Charitable ToK, VDS & Art of Living being singled out – Vendetta?

Let it be known that when the construction of the ‘Temple for Knowledge’ began, a group of volunteers started it based on the sanction plan given to VDS by the donor. The East ​Kolkata Wetlands Management Authority was not even functional then. VDS had obtained all required permissions from regulatory departments.

It is in this context that Selectively ToK building which is for the public good been ordered to be razed down. I hope VDS trust won’t let itself to be bullied by these kind of over-reach and use of discretionary powers and move higher court against this arbitrary order of EKWMA and NGT.

Some pictures of permanent structures existing in the same area where the Trust has been singled out.

View of Wetlands and Structures on it
Structures that has been spared
A view from the Under Construction ToK
Temple of Knowledge Building

NOTE: This rebuttal could have well been provided to the Media who had published the report, but it would be sending more hits to their portal which I don’t wish to do. A responsible media would have first sought Art of Living/VDS Trust’s reaction before they went to town with a one sided reportage.

Additional Reading: This is by no means an attempt to say Two wrongs don’t make a right. But to put things in perspective – Witch hunting (for reasons that is anyone’s guess) a legally cleared and permitted Not-For-Profit Organisation while commercial activities goes unchecked.

  1. In a meeting on July 14, the first of the reconstituted authority chaired by Chatterjee, the newly constituted EKWMA committee (this committee was created by the Government just to bull doze decisions on the Authority) made a series of decisions which, environmentalists allege, have formalised encroachment within the wetlands. This sitting cleared several Government Project (In-Principle approvals).A five kilometre flyover which will see 146 piers constructed within eight water bodies in the core of the Ramsar site is not a danger? Also note this has come post establishment of the authority unlike ToK which was much before.  Click on the picture below for details.

    Wastewater is released into the Kolkata wetlands at the Bantala Lock Gate
  2. A 5 km long flyover over the wetland – WB Government cared two hoots to the concerns raised.
  3. Clearance for dumping of City”s Solid waste (yes! You read it right) – Though this has been resisted, Minister Chatterjee has been very vocal with this demand.
  4. Two roads that would definitely damage and adverserly affect the Wetlands.
  5. This committee has allowed the Meghnath Saha Institute of Technology to procure land outside the wetland area and turn it into a water body (this was expressly banned by the authority and now overturned by this Committee)
  6. As evident from the pictures above, huge skyscrapers are also being permitted brazenly and the Authority nor the NGT seem to be bothered.
  7. There are reports that there is rampant and illegal sale of Wetlands (and on August 15th 2017, there was even violence between two parties including firing due to differences in sharing the spoils)

 

Presstitutes-Lynchmobs of Frenzier Kind

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Sharing a thought provoking piece by friend B Kalyan (Unedited Version, except for Typesetting for Emphasis and hyperlinking)

Media today Picture Courtesy- http://www.chicagonow.com/

A spiritual master through guidance, wisdom and love reveals the Knowledge of the self, making their life as a message of humanity, service and unconditional love. The master exemplifies the impossible, inspiring even an ordinary student/disciple to grow to their full potential.

At one end of the spectrum, we have masters who are either born enlightened or have become enlightened after years of dedicated practice. India has been blessed with Spiritual masters like Adi Shankarachraya, Babaji, Swami Vivekananda, Paramhansa Yogananda and more recently, Neem Karoli baba, Maharishi Maheish Yogi, Anandamayi Ma, Karunamayi, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar to name a few.  Leading by example they have spread the message of peace, unconditional love and service, imparting the timeless wisdom not only in India but also all over the world. 

At the other end we have so-called religious masters like Nityananda Swami, Narayan Sai and more recently Gurmeet Ram Rahim who either have come to the seat of knowledge due to inheritance or pure greed. The Dera Sacha Sauda incident and the fall from grace of its leader who committed a heinous crime was borne out of such a situation. However, this unfortunate incident is an aberration.

In country with thousands of Gurus with several of them doing yeomen service, it would be gross to paint them all with the same brush. In an age of intense media coverage and scrutiny, this opportunity was seized upon to drive their biased, prejudiced and self-serving agendas. Based on specious logic, contorted and misrepresented facts, many of these have been cloaked in apparently ‘respectable’ and ‘intellectual’ explanations and interpretations of happenings.

One spiritual master who has had to face unfounded accusations is founder of the Art of Living; Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. He has been at the receiving end of accusations. The sheer stature that Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has a worldwide following ensures attention. He is one of the most respected peace ambassador honored by different countries including USA, Canada, Russia, Columbia, Argentina, for his service to bring peace and harmony in the world. 

It is unfortunate author  Sanjay Shrivastava has used the Dera Sacha Sauda incident to attack Hindu gurus, playing with the minds of vulnerable disciples. In his article he writes, there is a “differentiated market” for Gurus driven by different strata of society. He goes on to add, and I quote “What is important to remember is that each following expresses mob frenzy – and its destructive force – in different ways”.  That avers that each guru has created a mob that can unleash frenzied mayhem at will. As an illustration he picks on the Art of Living and says “mobilization of collective opinion by Art of Living followers against the findings of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) regarding the damage caused by Art of Living’s “World Culture Festival” to the Yamuna floodplain in Delhi in March 2016 is, really, another form of mob action”.

I am completely dumbfounded and non-pulsed. Let us try to decipher the line of thought for a moment along with related facts.

First, there apparently was mobilization of collective opinion!! Pray, whose “collective opinion” is being referred to? The author has glibly begun his article with the conclusion “The charisma of the guru (usually a male) lies in the fact that he is able to convince his followers that his own acts are not anti-social but a-social”. Their opinion obviously need not be mobilized. Then it can only refer to the general public. People are therefore ill informed, gullible, and bereft of reasoning and logic. That does not paint a very complimentary picture of the so-called ‘hoi polloi’, does it?

Next, Sanjay has gone on to suggest that the NGT was weighed down by pressure of public opinion. In other words, NGT, a court of law, headed by a judge from Supreme Court decides matters based on public opinion rather than facts presented before it!! This seems to betray an utter contempt of the institution, should it not act in a manner aligned to thoughts and ideas of the author.  He seems to have left out a fact that Art of Living has adhered strictly the judicial court route. Complete scientific evidence of no damage was submitted to the court whereas the NGT committee members had no proof to sustain their claims of damage to the grounds where the world cultural festival was held. 

And then comes the final burst. Since public memory is assumed to be notoriously short and frail. So “streets occupied by the Art of Living followers – and the damage caused to public property” are different from recent incidents yet similar!!! Which street Art of Living followers occupied and which public property was damaged? Needless to say Sanjay does not seem too keen to mention any of those details. 

Isn’t this intellectuals mob frenzy of worse kind? Creating  things that do not exist and damaging reputation beyond repair!