VIEWPOINT
AMITABH SHUKLA
How similar are the names of
Surjeet Singh and Sarabjeet Singh? Ask any person in Punjab
and you will be told that there is absolutely no similarity between the two,
except the surname. But this remained the greatest confusion on the other side
of the Radcliffe line, in Pakistan ,
for several hours.
Obviously, the confusion was
deliberate. Working in the media over a period of time, I have seen
politicians, state governments and authorities and of course affected
individuals, contradicting news as soon as it is flashed. If anyone has been
wronged or an incorrect news broadcast, they are immediately alarmed and
contact not only the reporters concerned but also the top bosses of the
organisation which has done so.
Even if a particular news item is
correct but not palatable to the authorities, they deny it as soon as it comes to
their knowledge. I have witnessed several instances where people call up 10
minutes after news has been telecast to point out its inaccuracy or for that
matter to appreciate it. No one takes over
six hours to contradict a news, if it is being flashed repeatedly on electronic
channels and news agencies. This is what
Pakistan did
and instead of Sarabjeet, it was Surjeet who was released after spending over
three decades in a prison there.
Surjeet is an honorable citizen
of the country and his release has been welcomed not only by the people of the
state but also by a resolution in the Punjab Assembly. The same resolution also
urged the central government to take all steps for the release of Sarabjeet
Singh, facing a death sentence for allegedly carrying out subversive
activities.
But here, there is a twist in the tale. While
Surjeet, a former constable in the Border Security Force, says that he crossed
over to Pakistan
several times and was a spy, hired by an intelligence agency for the country,
Home Secretary Raj Kumar Singh has categorically denied the assertions. The
Home Secretary said that India
was not into spying and the assertions of Surjeet are not correct.
The question is whom should the
people of the country believe – the Home Secretary or the person who has spent
the better part of his productive life in a Pakistan
jail. Surjeet says he was abandoned by the country after being caught and there
was no one to own him up all these years. Even Pakistani authorities had
charged him with spying and awarded the death sentence which was commuted to
life imprisonment later on. He was not charged for smuggling or any other
activity. Now an aggrieved Surjeet plans to move the courts for compensation
saying his family lived in penury while he was lodged in jail.
In fact, there are similar tales
of dozens of former spies in Punjab and the Jammu
region who have been abandoned by the agencies and handlers who apparently used
them. They claim that they worked for the country but no one ever came forward
to own them up or offer any financial or moral support. After spending a time
varying from one to three decades in jail, some of them are working as
labourerers now, some have become too old to take care of themselves, others
are mental wreck and some of them question why they took up the profession of
James Bond. A couple of them went on hunger strike to press for their demand
which fell on deaf ears. Most of the former spies are semi literate, perhaps a
qualification for a low-profile and high risk career which they voluntary
adopted for a little money, adventure and idealism to serve for the country.
Gopal Das and Kashmir Singh were
the last two spies whose return became a media event. Gopal Das was released in
April 2011 after 27 years in jail while Kashmir Singh, who too was initially
sentenced to death, like Surjeet, was released in March 2008. After returning,
both of them narrated a tale almost similar to the one which Surjeet has to
tell. They admitted to spying and accused the country of doing little to secure
their release or help their family while they were incarcerated in the jail. The
case of Madhuri Gupta too hogged the headlines for a different reason. She was
posted in the Indian High Commission in Islamabad
and has been accused of spying for Pakistan
and a trial of the case is currently on in a Delhi
court.
In fact, the social, cultural and
linguistic similarities along with the physical features of people inhabiting
India’s Punjab is so similar to that of west Punjab in Pakistan that the
agencies found the local youth ideal for the job in the 1960s, 70s and even the
80s. Things changed in the late 80s and
90s when the fence came up on the international border and one could no longer
cross over to the other side at will. Moreover, the role of traditional methods
of spying and information gathering was no longer important considering the
fact that in the era of technological boom, this was no longer needed. No
country or agency needed pictures of vital installations and movement of the
armed forces as the satellites captured and beamed the pictures much more
effectively. The traditional methods of spying, the one in which Surjeet and
others were perhaps involved, had become obsolete and now is completely
outdated.
Those who have read American and
British thrillers on CIA, KGB and the British Secret Service during the cold
war would recall that these novels repeatedly narrated that whenever a spy is
caught, they are disowned by the agency and the country running them. Numerous
films too have vividly brought this out. That was the rule of the game and the
agents knew before hand that getting caught was the end.
Which country would accept that
it sent spies to the neighbouring or faraway country? The practice was prevalent
even during the heydays of the Magadh Empire, 500 years before Christ and
Chanakya wrote that spying was part of statecraft and managing the foreign
affairs of the country. It would
continue, albeit in a different manner and with the aid of advanced technology 100-200
or may be 1000 years down the line and even more. As long as hostilities are
there or are perceived, every country would like to have all the information it
wants to counter its opponent. It is a part of statecraft which all the
countries use though most of them might not admit it openly.
Surjeet Singh, Gopal Das, Kashmir
Singh and dozens of others claim that they spent their lives in Pakistani Jail
for a cause. Central government may not believe so and acknowledge them. But
people at large understand both the compulsions of government and the
sacrifices of the spies. The huge turnout to welcome Surjeet amply indicated
this. (July 2, 2012)
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