THE CASE AGAINST JAGDISH TYTLER

B.RAMAN

In its online edition, “Outlook” has carried a detailed chronology of the case against Jagdish Tytler, a functionary of the Congress (I), in connection with allegations of his involvement in the murder of some Sikhs during the massacre of about 3000 Sikhs in certain areas of Delhi after the assassination of Indira Gandhi by two of her Sikh bodyguards from the Delhi Police on October 31,1984. This may be seen at http://blogs.outlookindia.com/default.aspx?ddm=10&pid=2961&eid=5

2. The massacres led to two kinds of complaints by sections of the Sikh community . The first was about studied inaction by the Delhi Police in the face of the massacres without effective action to stop them. The second was regarding the role of some functionaries of the Congress (I) in the massacres. Three of the Congress functionaries accused by some sections of the Sikh community of orchestrating the massacres were H.K.L.Bhagat, Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar. Bhagat is since dead. Tytler and Sajjan Kumar faced enquiries and investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

3. The Government of India ordered Ved Marwah, former Commissioner of Delhi Police, to enquire into complaints of police inaction. When it was found that he had taken his task seriously and was trying to identify police officers guilty of inaction, the enquiry was taken out of his hands. The whole thing was subsequently covered up.

4. The investigations by the CBI were perceived by large sections of public opinion to be another cover-up exercise to protect the Congress functionaries allegedly involved, particularly Tytler, who was alleged to be close to the family of Indira Gandhi. Tytler did not suffer any political or criminal consequences as a result of the investigations.

5.In 2007--- 23 years after the massacres--the CBI submitted to the trial court  a Final Report claiming that there was not sufficient evidence to warrant Tytler’s prosecution. As it was contended by some Sikhs that the CBI had not examined an eye-witness living in the US, a Sessions Court rejected the FR and ordered the CBI to further investigate the case and record the statement of the alleged eye-witness living in the US.

6. The CBI did so and submitted another FR in 2009 claiming that there was still no evidence to warrant the prosecution of Tytler. The court accepted the FR this time and the case against Tytler was sought to be closed once for all.

7. The “Outlook” narrative has quoted Ritu Sarin of the “Indian Express” as finding out that two senior officers of the CBI had recommended that the investigation should be completed and all the evidence put up before a court in the form of a charge-sheet against Tytler and it should be left to the court to decide whether the evidence is sufficient to convict Tytler.

8. According to “Outlook”, Ashwani Kumar, who was the Director of the CBI from August 2008 to November,2010, rejected their recommendation and ordered the submission of an FR once again stating that there was not sufficient evidence to warrant the prosecution of Tytler. This was done. After his retirement, Shri Ashwani Kumar has recently been appointed as the Governor of Nagaland. This appointment has come in for allegations in sections of the media as a quid pro quo for his decisions favouring the Government when he held office.

9. Following complaints by sections of the Sikh community that there are other eye-witness now living in the US, who were not examined by the CBI before submitting an FR for a second time in 2009, a Sessions Court has ordered a further  investigation of the charges against Tytler by the CBI.

10. The massacres of about 3000 Sikhs after the assassination of Indira Gandhi, with some functionaries of the Congress allegedly playing an active role in orchestrating the massacres, has illustrated the cover-up culture of the Congress, which pushed under the carpet complaints of inaction by the Delhi Police and then sought to distort the CBI investigation to ensure that no functionary of the Congress suffered adverse consequences.

11. A clean chit was twice sought to be given to Tytler on the basis of an incomplete investigation. He  continues to be an important member of the Congress, defended and protected by senior leaders of the Congress  and he roams around as a free man   appearing in one TV channel after another to discredit the witnesses against him outside a court of law.

12. In the years since 1984, the credibility of the CBI as the premier investigating agency of the Government of India has repeatedly taken a beating. The entire investigation process in the Government of India stands discredited at the political and professional levels and hardly anyone takes the CBI seriously

13. If the credibility of our criminal justice system has to be restored and if we have to win the confidence of the Sikh community, it is important that the further investigation against Tytler be done in a time-bound manner by a special investigation team reporting directly to the court.

14. We have failed to do justice to our Sikh community for nearly three decades after the massacres were committed. It is time to end this Government-sponsored charade of investigation and identify and punish the guilty. ( 12-4-13)

( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Associate of the Chennai Centre For China Studies. Twitter : @SORBONNE75 )

KIM JONG-UN: CHINESE CONCERNS & CAUTION

 

 

 

 

B.RAMAN

As  Kim Jong-Un of North Korea, who completes one year as First Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea on April 11,2013,uses North Korea’s power of escalatory rhetoric to threaten the region with the danger of a nuclear war if its demands are not met, there is increasing nervousness not only among North Korea’s perceived adversaries such as the US, South Korea and Japan, but also in its traditional friend next door, namely, China.

2. Does Kim realise the implications of the threats which he has been holding out against his adversaries? Does he realise that if he carries out his threats or if he loses control of the situation under the irrational force of his rhetoric, he would be seriously endangering not only the national interests and security of his own country, but also  those of North Korea’s traditional friends such as China?

3. Even Fidel Castro, in a recent column for a Cuban paper for which he writes now and then, has pointed out the likely dangers to North Korea’s traditional friends if the situation in the Korean peninsula gets out of control. He has not named the traditional friends of North Korea, but it is apparent he was having in mind China and Russia.

4. The Government and Party-controlled media in China has been increasingly---initially indirectly, now directly--- reflecting the concerns in China over the developing situation in the Korean peninsula in the wake of the recent North Korean nuclear and missile tests and the new sanctions sought to be imposed against it under pressure from the US.

5. The Chinese concerns are reflected very clearly in two commentaries carried by the ‘People’s Daily” and the “Global Times”, both run by the Communist Party of China, on April 11, coinciding with the first anniversary of  Kim Jong-Un’s leadership of the Party

6. The “People’s Daily” commentary, explaining China’s policy of not allowing trouble-making at its doorstep,  said: “ Not allowing troublemaking at the doorsteps of China means to stop the vicious circle of tension on the peninsula, to prevent any party from stirring up trouble, to oppose creating tension on purpose, and to say no to render the use of force to resolve the problem. Words and deeds that intensify the tensions on the Korean Peninsula should be condemned and opposed. Not allowing troublemaking at the doorsteps of China is not China's "Monroe Doctrine". China does not seek spheres of influence. China intends to maintain regional peace and stability on the Peninsula, and determine its own position and actions in accordance with the Peninsula situation on its own merits. At present, it is not without hope to maintain peace and stability on the peninsula.”

7. The “Global Times” was even more explicit in cautioning North Korea. It said:

“Since the transition of Pyongyang's leadership, the outside world has been speculating over the future direction of the regime. North Korea is sure to change, because its current situation is unsustainable and is placing huge pressure on the country. Escaping this pressure fits the North's interests and would allow the country to meet external expectations.

“During the past year, the nuclear issue has remained at the centre of the North's domestic and foreign policies. The new leadership has shown its resolve, which is to develop nuclear technologies, rather than solve the nuclear crisis. The regime has taken an extreme path.

“Pyongyang should clearly understand that it does not have the capability to dominate the situation in the Korean Peninsula. Its nuclear capacity to some extent makes it feel secure, but at the same time it worsens its international strategic environment. Pyongyang should drop its illusions that it can make the world stay silent over its desire for nuclear arms through its hard-line stance and deceptions.

“The international community will never permit North Korea to have the legal status of a nuclear country, because it would lead to more devastating consequences. A number of Asian countries have acquired nuclear weapons, but none of them use them in the manner North Korea envisions.

“The North Korean regime has to face up to the difficulties in returning to the international community if it refuses to give up its nuclear ambitions. Even if the US and South Korea make concessions, the North still confronts problems such as sanctions and economic obstacles. Concrete moves are needed to solve the current dilemma that the North faces.

“China respects North Korea, but it also holds the responsibility of preserving peace in Northeast Asia. Pyongyang's nuclear issue concerns China's national interests. We hope that the North Korean regime can stay rational and pay attention to the interests of the whole region as its bottom line. We also hope that its moves will not pose threats to the peace and stability of China's north-eastern area.

“North Korea has more difficulties in opening itself up to the world. The stances of South Korea, Japan and the US are partly the reason. Regardless of the situation, we believe the North still has a chance and we regret that it has become mired in this crisis. We hope the crisis is only temporary.”

8.A perusal of the recent comments in the Chinese media indicates that Chinese observers feel there is need for fresh thinking on the question of North Korea’s nuclear and missile capability. It seems to be their view that after all that has happened recently the question of a negotiated de-nuclearisation of North Korea is no longer a viable option. A more practical option could be to work for a freezing of North Korea’s capability at the present level in return for a Chinese offer of its nuclear umbrella to North Korea to calm its fears regarding the US nuclear umbrella for South Korea and Japan.

9. Will such an offer work? The US may not accept any attempt to legitimise North Korea’s present capability as that could create problems in relation to Iran. Moreover, the present North Korean leadership seems determined not to accept any externally imposed constraints on its nuclear and missile capabilities.

10. How to calm the North Korean leadership and de-escalate the situation? The Chinese do not seem to have an answer. They seem to know so little about the mind-set of Kim Jong-Un and his advisers. He has not visited China since assuming office. He had visited China along with his father, but as the ruler of North Korea after the death of his father Kim Jong-Il, he and his advisers have not maintained the same level of contacts with the party and PLA leadership of China as during the days of his father.

11. China is no longer an important and reliable window on North Korea as it used to be in the past. It is as confused by the policies and unpredictability of Kim Jong-Un and his advisers as the US and South Korea. As Kim, who had done his schooling in Switzerland, took over as the supreme leader in December 2011 after the death of his father, there was a fond expectation that his exposure to the West as a student might make him amenable to a policy of gradually opening up his country to the outside world.

12. This has not happened. Is it because he himself is not inclined to pursuing a policy of opening-up or because he is unable to overcome opposition from the old guards in the Army and the Party to any policy change. One has not so far seen in the Party and the Army a new generation wanting to experiment with new policies in the economic field.

13. In the face of a dearth of information regarding the new post-December 2011 leadership in North Korea, China has been finding the recent developments as unnerving as the rest of the international community. Apart from articulating its concerns and caution and expressing its hope that things will not reach a point of no return, China has been finding its ability to influence the developments in a constructive direction limited.  (11-4-13)

 

( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Associate of the Chennai Centre For China Studies. Twitter: @SORBONNE75)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONTINUING FERMENT IN TIBETAN AREAS OF CHINA

 

 

 

B.RAMAN

The anti-Han and anti-Beijing ferment, marked by endless self-immolations of freedom-loving Tibetans---monks and others, young and old, men and women---- continues in the Tibetan areas of China.

2. There have already been 114 self-immolations so far---the majority in the Tibetan areas of  Sichuan, where the self-immolations started in 2009 following Chinese suppression of the monks of the Kirti monastery.

3. The Chinese attempts to intimidate the potential self-immolators by jailing friends and relatives of some self-immolators on charges of abetment of suicide have failed to crush the movement. The more the suppression, the more the self-immolations.

4. In their desperation, the Chinese projected the movement as orchestrated by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his overseas supporters and by the Voice of America. Finding that their allegations had no takers in the international community, they are now trying to blame some Tibetan followers of His Holiness in Dharamsala, India, for allegedly instigating the self-immolations.

5. On March 18,2013, the State-owned Xinhua news agency disseminated the following report:

“ Chinese police have sent co-investigation request to police authorities in related countries concerning a 32-year-old man who instigated a self-immolation incident in which two teenage boys died.

“Police in southwest China's Sichuan Province said two teenagers died after setting themselves ablaze in Jamcha Village, Ruoergai County, in the Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Aba.

“Rinchen Tseli, 15, and Sonam Dakyi, 16, self-immolated on Feb. 19 and died at the scene, according to a statement released Monday by police authorities.

“Fear and homesickness prompted Ye Ja, a 17-year-old who had planned to self-immolate with the other two teens, to reconsider, said the statement.

“Police said they found that Rinchen Tseli's 32-year-old uncle, known as Tenpa Gyatso, among other names, organized the self-immolations. He formerly served as a monk in the Jage Monastery in Jamcha Village.

“Tenpa Gyatso illegally crossed the border to India's Dorje Monastery in 2007, and he was also a staff member with the press contact group of India's Kirti Monastery. He maintained close contact with Rinchen Tseli and inculcated the idea of "Tibet independence" upon him frequently, said the statement.

 “Since January, Tenpa Gyatso repeatedly incited Rinchen Tseli to self-immolate through the Internet-based smartphone chatting software WeChat and claimed that self-immolators are "national heroes," according to the statement.

“"The Indian side will carve your name on the Monument to Self-immolators in Takla Sala and pray for you. You will become an extraordinary man," Tenpa Gyatso encouraged Rinchen Tseli, according to the statement.

 

6. By “co-investigation request”, the Chinese apparently mean a request for mutual legal assistance in the investigation. The Xinhua despatch does not name the countries to which the co-investigation request has been addressed, but India is likely to be one of them since it has been alleged that Tenpa Gyatso works for a monastery  in India and was in China till 2007.

7. In the past, the Chinese had blamed organisations such as the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) and members of the diaspora for the self-immolations, without directly blaming anyone in India or seeking Indian assistance in the investigation. This is the first time they had named someone in India and sought mutual legal assistance in the investigation.

8. To my knowledge, India does not have a treaty on mutual legal assistance with China. We are not bound to take cognisance of Chinese allegations and request for legal assistance. India should not become an unwitting party to Chinese attempts to intimidate freedom-loving Tibetans.

9. In the meanwhile, the Chinese authorities are reported to have circulated in the Tibetan areas a list of “Unlawful” activities by Tibetans which would result in police action against them. According to Radio Free Asia, activities made punishable include fund-raising “in the name of social welfare,” urging protection of the environment or the Tibetan language, and conducting prayer rituals or other religious ceremonies if these carry “overtones” of support for Tibetan independence. ( 9-4-13)

 

( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt of India, New Delhi, and ,presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Associate of the Chennai Centre For China Studies. Twitter @SORBONNE75)

 

 

 

 

PAKISTAN ELECTIONS---A PREVIEW

 

 

B.RAMAN

The forthcoming Pakistani elections to the National Assembly on May 11,2013, should be of close interest to India. Will the elections pave the way for another five years of civilian rule uninterrupted by Army intervention or will there be new instability prompting the Army to intervene? It is too early to answer this question, but certain issues need to be underlined.

2.Despite the usual ups and downs in Indo-Pakistan relations which come in the way of normalisation of bilateral ties, one has to acknowledge that the five years of rule by the coalition headed by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) saw a new mindset in Islamabad marked by a loosening of the historic obsession with the Kashmir issue. It is no longer Kashmir or nothing. The PPP-led Government showed a willingness to give a try to past suggestions from India and others, including the US and China, not to oppose progress in other issues such as bilateral trade by continuing to make the bilateral relations a hostage to the Kashmir issue.

3. While the Pakistan Army under Gen.Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, the Chief of the Army Staff, continued to regard India as the main threat to Pakistan and did not relent in its attempts to undermine any Indian role in Afghanistan, it did not come in the way of the attempts of the civilian Government to improve bilateral relations in other fields.

4. Indian attempts to encourage the signs of a new mindset in the Pakistani leadership were thwarted by the 26/11 terrorist strikes in Mumbai by the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET) and the lack of sincerity and seriousness in the Pakistani leadership in acting against Hafiz Mohd Sayeed, the Amir of the LET, and other Pakistan-based masterminds of the 26/11 strikes in Mumbai. The recent violation of the Line of Control (LOC) in Jammu and Kashmir by the Pakistan Army and its brutal beheading of an Indian soldier added to suspicions that the Pakistani military leadership continued to give primacy to its traditional policy of keeping India bleeding in J&K.

5. Despite these negative factors, two seemingly positive factors need to be noted. The first is the absence of any major act of terrorism by ISI-sponsored jihadi organisations in Indian territory outside J&K after 26/11.The second is the similar absence of ISI-sponsored attacks on Indian targets in Afghanistan.

6. One would have thought that the ISI-sponsored organisations, particularly the LET, would have exploited the unhappiness among sections of the Muslim community over the execution of Afzal Guru, one of the perpetrators of the attack on the Indian Parliament in December,2001, to revive mass fatality terrorist attacks in the Indian territory outside J&K. This has not happened. There is so far no credible evidence of any Pakistani hand in the recent terrorist incident in Hyderabad.

7. One has to be alert to the possibility of a reprisal attack by the LET and the Karachi-based Dawood Ibrahim group to avenge the recent confirmation by the Supreme Court of the sentences passed against the perpetrators of the March 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai, which marked the beginning of the ISI attempts to spread jihadi attacks to Indian territory outside J&K. There would be need for special security caution in Mumbai and Gujarat. There could be attempts by jihadi elements – indigenous or LET-orchestrated--- to discredit Narendra Modi as he emerges as the possible next Prime Minister by disturbing internal security in Gujarat.

8. While the strength and capability of the LET and other ISI-sponsored jihadi organisations for carrying out acts of mass fatality terrorism in hinterland India continue to improve, their lying low since 26/11 is an indicator of the Pakistan Army’s keenness not to be seen by the international community as coming in the way of the civilian leadership’s attempt to avoid new frictions in the relations with India.

9. The poll campaign in Pakistan is yet to pick up steam, but one could see that while the fundamentalist and jihadi organisations continue to be venomous in their attitude to India and in their determination to make India bleed whenever and wherever they can, the political mainstream is slowly coming round to the view that perennial hostility to India may prove counter-productive.

10. As one waits for a clearer indictor of the likely outcome of the polls, one has to be worried over the possibility of rogue elephant terrorist organisations such as the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Sunni extremist Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LEJ) causing major disruptions in the elections, particularly in the Pashtoon areas and in Karachi. If they can disrupt the elections in Karachi and aggravate the instability there, the political consequences could be unpredictable.

11. Keeping aside the security scenario, one notices from the reports coming out of Pakistan that there is so much disenchantment with the five-year rule of the PPP-led coalition that the chances of the Nawaz Sharif-led Pakistan Muslim League (PML) coming to power have improved despite some support for Imran Khan in Punjab and the Khyber-Pakhtoonkwa (KP) province.

12. In Pakistan, the mainstream media is generally better disposed towards Nawaz Sharif than to Asif Ali Zardari. Despite their optimistic projections of the chances of Nawaz, one should not rule out a repeat of the 2008 elections--- with the PPP doing well in Sindh Rural and the Seraiki areas of Southern Punjab, its ally Awami National Party (ANP) doing well in KP and the Pashtoon pockets of Karachi, the Mohajir Qaumi Movement (MQM) of Altaf Hussain retaining its traditional Karachi strongholds and Nawz’s PML doing well in Central Punjab despite the challenge from Imran Khan. If Imran Khan does well it will be more at the expense of the PML and the ANP than  of the PPP.

13. Whether 2008 is repeated or whether a new combination of political forces emerges on top, it will be in India’s interest to welcome the continuance of civilian rule and remain engaged  with the  new civilian leadership in an attempt to give a benign direction to Indo-Pakistan relations. ( 7-4-13)

( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd),  Cabinet Secretariat, Govt of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Associate of the Chennai Centre For China Studies. Twitter @SORBONNE75)

NEED FOR CAUTION IN SPACE-RELATED ACADEMIC EXCHANGES WITH CHINA

 

B.RAMAN

According to a report carried by “The Hindu” of April 4,2013, “ the Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT), a Government-run research university known for its work on China’s space programme, signed on April 3 a first of its kind Memorandum of  Understanding (MOU) with Karnataka-based Manipal University paving the way for closer collaboration on joint research projects.”

2.The report adds that the Manipal Universirty will sign on  April 5 an MOU with BIT’s sister university, the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics in southern  Jiangsu province.

3. The report also says: “Both universities have ties to China’s space programme and also run research and development programmes related to defence projects.”

4. For China, research and espionage are synonymous .Chinese universities and nuclear and space research establishments often provide academic cover to their intelligence officers for the collection of intelligence.

5.A Chinese university in Shanghai allegedly collaborates with China’s offensive cyber intelligence set-up to enable the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) develop a capability for infiltrating foreign cyber networks.

6. Strengthening counter-intelligence capabilities against China is a priority task for Western intelligence agencies and particularly for the US intelligence community. Since the Chinese intelligence techniques for the collection of nuclear and space related intelligence from the US came to notice during the Clinton Administration, the US Government has considerably strengthened its counter-intelligence capability against China. This subject is constantly under review by the Congressional Intelligence Oversight Committees. The US intelligence agencies are cautious in vetting and cleating academic exchange programmes with  Chinese academic institutions which are suspected to act as Trojan Horses for the Chinese intelligence.

7.Our intelligence and counter-intelligence capabilities relating to China are weak. After the 1962 war, we found that China had more intelligence about us than we had about China. Since then steps have been taken to improve our capabilities for counter-intelligence against China. There are still deficiencies.

8. For the Chinese intelligence agencies, among priority targets in their briefs for intelligence collection in India are our space establishments in and around Bengaluru  and our space launching sites on the East coast. Another penetration target for them is the Indo-Russian Brahmo project.

9. The presence of Chinese space experts in Manipal  will enable the Chinese to use Manipal as a base for putting in place an intelligence collection network under the cover of an academic exchange programmne.

10. When asked about the security aspects of the programme, Shri M.D.Nalapat, Honorary Director of the Department of Geopolitics of the Manipal University, has stated as follows: “ It makes no sense for us to avoid dealing with China when every other country in the world is embracing China---even the US and the EU, where universities are having far more in-depth engagement than what we are proposing.”

11. It is a simplistic argument which can prove counter-productive. No one can object to in-depth exchanges with Chinese institutions in fields like humanities, special areas like energy conservation, pollution control, disaster management etc. But before engaging in exchanges in very sensitive fields like nuclear and space research, we have to be certain that we have the required counter-intelligence capability to prevent the Chinese from misusing the exchanges for intelligence collection and sabotage like injecting computer viruses into the computer networks of our nuclear and space establishments. We had seen what happened in Iran.

12. The Manipal University’s initiative needs close scrutiny from the Counter-Intelligence angle before it is cleared by our intelligence community. (4-4-13)

( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt lof India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Associate of the Chennai Centre For China Studies. Twitter: @SORBONNE75 )

 

CHINA'S MICHELLE OBAMA

    

 B.RAMAN

 “China’s new soft power”, “A Media Sensation” --- these were some of the expressions used by the Chinese media in their reports on Peng Liyuan, the second wife of President Xi Jinping, who accompanied him on his just-concluded  first State visit to Russia,Tanzania, South Africa and Congo   

2. The correspondent of the Channelnews Asia reported: “China's glamorous first lady Peng Liyuan has become a media and internet sensation. Some say she could also signal a new era of change in Chinese politics. The world took notice when Madam Peng made her debut as China's first lady, during President Xi Jinping's first visit overseas as head of state. Already a household name in the world of Chinese military folk music, the 51-year-old soprano is used to being in the limelight. And now, she's getting more attention than her predecessors - both at home and abroad.”

3.It added: “Analysts say Mrs Xi's celebrity background played a part in raising her profile as China's first lady. Prof Li Weijian, Director of Foreign Policy Studies at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, said: "She was previously in the limelight for being a singer. She's now in the limelight for being a politician's wife. That kind of public attention she previously received has been brought over and people want to see how she's like as a leader's wife."

4.Prof Li added: "Everyone's interested in her and her image and charm makes it easier for people to get close to her and in turn understand China as well. She's also an artist and she has an affinity to communicate with others unlike someone who's never been a public figure and has no experience in communicating."

5. "Other commentators say Mrs Xi, who's also a global ambassador in the fight against HIV/AIDS, signals the beginning of a new political scene in China, as her transition from popular singer to now, first lady makes people feel more connected to the Chinese leaders, whose lives have always been kept away from the public eye.”

6.In a write-up on March 29,2013, the “China Daily News” reported as follows: “If you were looking to cast someone to carry on Jacqueline Kennedy's charm offensive, it would be hard to find anyone more suitable than Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping. If you were writing a novel and trying to craft the perfect blend of personal history, capabilities, poise and charm for a character, you'd come up with someone like Peng.

7.“Born into a humble family in Shandong province, she joined the People's Liberation Army at the age of 18, gaining nationwide fame as a performer of patriotic and military songs. But she is not only praised for her voice and professional achievements, she has also gained plaudits for her charity efforts and volunteerism. She has, among other things, distinguished herself as a World Health Organization ambassador in the fight against AIDS, and was a comforting presence in the aftermath of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.

8.”I've had the great joy of attending one of the super-talented Peng's performances in the Golden Hall, the Musikverein, in Vienna and, like the rest of the audience there, was enchanted and mesmerized by her.

9.”Try as it may, it's no secret that China, even with its unparalleled rich and venerable culture, has not done a good job when it comes to its attempts to exercise the soft power that befits a country of its stature. Let's face it, the United States is doing a much better job in this respect, it has dominated this field in virtually every aspect for the last hundred years and perfected the projection of soft power beyond its shores as both an art and a science.

10.”The media attention given Peng as she accompanies her husband on his first foreign trip as president shows that not only can she serve as a role model for Chinese women, especially young Chinese women at home and abroad, she can also be an effective icon for projecting China's soft power overseas.

11.”For decades at least, China has not had a tradition of first ladies like in the US. Now that China has mounted to a higher position on the world stage, it can project its first first lady!And Peng Liyuan is the perfect person with whom to begin.”

12.This is not the first time the wife of a Chinese leader has accompanied her husband on his foreign visits. The wife of Hu Jintao, the predecessor of Xi, had accompanied him on some occasions. But whereas the wives of the previous leaders were not glamorous. Peng is glamorous and the Chinese media focused on her glamour to showcase her as the image of the new Chinese woman---glamorous and politically and socially active, who can hold her own against the First Ladies of Western Countries---particularly the US.

13.An American TV channel described her as China’s Michelle Obama. And the Chinese were happy with that description.

14.Everything she wore and did during the travel became news. She always made it a point to wear Chinese, avoiding expensive Western brands. The focus was on the fact that whatever she wore was a product of the Chinese fashion industry. She sought to show that a Chinese woman can be chic even while adhering to her husband’s exhortation to the Chinese people to be austere in their life-style.

15.Interestingly, even though Xi took over as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China in November last year, she avoided the limelight till he was elected as the State President by the National People’s Congress (NPC) in March.

16.Was the decision to bring her into the limelight and direct the media focus on her as the First Lady was taken personally by Xi or was it the decision of the Party? No answer to this question is available in the media reports on her, but it is quite likely that her being brought into the limelight and projected as China’s New Generation First Lady was the decision of the Party and not of Xi.

17.Is there a possibility of a personality and glamour cult building around her as a result of the adulation to which she is subjected and is there a danger of this cult being viewed adversely by the old generation party members? This is a question which will engage the attention of the Chinese analysts in the months to come.

18.After Xi returned to China from his foreign visit, the spotlight on her was dimmed, thereby indicating that she will be projected as a showcase of emerging China to the outside world, without giving her any domestic role as the wife of the Party leader.

19.She was a sensation among China’s growing community of netizens. While many of the online references to her were positive, some brought out clips to show that she had sung and danced for PLA troops in Tibet and for the troops which had crushed the pro-democracy students in the Tienanmen Square. Official censors had them blacked out quickly.

20.This shows a danger that while the Government and the Party want to focus on the glamorous and positive side of her image, as a PLA officer, she also has a negative side and skeletons. The detractors of the Party will try to dig out the negative side and expose it to the people. (31-3-13)

( The writer is Additional Secretary ( retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Associate of the Chennai Centre For China Studies. Twitter: @SORBONNE75 )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PROPOSED NOMINATION OF RETIRING NIA CHIEF TO NHRC

B.RAMAN

The media has reported that Smt.Sushma Swaraj, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and Shri Arun Jaitley, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, have strongly objected to a proposal from the Government to appoint Shri S.C.Sinha, the retiring chief of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), as a member of the National Human Rights Commission.

2. They are reported to have suggested that someone not belonging to the Indian Police Service should be appointed to this post. They have also reportedly pointed out that the NIA has come under controversy in connection with its investigation of allegations of involvement of some Hindus in acts of terrorism. There have been allegations  in the past that the NIA was sought to be misused by the Government to demonise the RSS by projecting the arrested Hindus as having acted at the instance of the RSS.

3. It may be recalled that some allegations openly made by Shri   Sushil Kumar Shinde, Minister For Home Affairs, in this connection which sought to create an impression in the public mind that there were terrorism training camps being run by some Hindus, came in for strong criticism from the opposition. He made these allegations at a brain-storming session of the Congress (I) at Jaipur, which nominated Shri Rahul Gandhi as the Vice-President of the Congress.

4. One understands the NHRC has an investigation division to investigate allegations of human rights violations and that this Division has been usually headed by a retired IPS officer, well-versed in investigation. He investigates the complaints and submits his findings to the Commission as a whole.

5. The NIA was set up in 2009 after the 26/11 terrorist strikes in Mumbai to undertake the investigation of terrorism cases with a pan-Indian dimension referred to it by the Government. Whereas in the US the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) automatically investigates all terrorism cases without the President playing any role in the matter, in India, the Ministry of Home Affairs, which is the supervising Ministry of the NIA, has kept in its hands the discretion to decide which cases will be investigated by the NIA and which cases need not be.

6.There have been allegations that the Government has been misusing this discretionary power to discredit the RSS and the BJP by selectively removing investigations against the arrested Hindus from the hands of the State Police concerned and  transferring them to the NIA.

7. The effectiveness of the NIA as a terrorism investigation agency depends not only on its investigation capability, but also on its credibility as an independent agency like the FBI of the US that does not allow itself to be misused by the Government for its own political agenda.

8. The investigation and prosecution record of the NIA since its inception in 2009 has been poor. Many terrorist incidents have remained undetected. It is distrusted both by the Hindu and Muslim communities. Large sections of the Hindus distrust it of letting itself be misused by the Government for discrediting the Hindutva organisations and creating suspicions of their involvement in terrorism.

9. Large sections of Muslims too distrust it of seeking to implicate innocent Muslims in terrorism cases and harassing them. As a result, the public credibility of the NIA is poor.

10. While it would be unfair to hold the retiring chief of the NIA responsible for this state of affairs, the public perception will be that he cannot escape responsibility for this.

11. Many of the complaints of human rights violations received by the NHRC are against the Police and counter-terrorism agencies. The public would tend to believe that retired IPS officers appointed to head the investigation division would not be fair and impartial in their investigation and would try to cover up the misdeeds of fellow police officers.

12. There is, therefore, validity in the reported contention of Smt.Sushma Swaraj that a retired IPS officer should not be appointed to this post. Particularly, it will be very unwise to appoint the retiring chief of the NIA to this post. The investigations of the NHRC will not have any credibility in the eyes of the aggrieved communities.

13. Moreover, the elections to the Lok Sabha are due in the next few months. The appointment of the retiring NIA chief at this time as a member of the NHRC will create a suspicion that the Government has a hidden political agenda. This matter needs to be brought to the notice of the Election Commission too. ( 31-3-13)

( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Associate of the Chennai Centre For China Studies.

Twitter: @SORBONNE75 )