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Mainstream, VOL 61 No 21, May 20, 2023

Phoney Patriots, Fake Social Workers! Why the Hindutva Brigade has suddenly gone mute in case of the recent exposure of an espionage case in DRDO? | Subhash Gatade

Saturday 20 May 2023, by Subhash Gatade

#socialtags

Silence speaks! Or does it so !!

The recent exposure of an espionage case in DRDO — ( Defence Research Development Organisation) - which involves a senior scientist, Prof Pradeep Kurulkar, who was holding the position of Director, Systems Engineering Laboratory of the Research & Development Establishment (Engineers) within the organisation and was handling crucial projects related to India’s defence preparations has perhaps shaken the defence establishment.

As per reports he had played a vital role in developing and designing several military engineering equipment and systems as a lead designer and team leader which includes missile launchers are well as subsonic cruise missile system. and was in contact with a Pakistani ISI women agent since October 2022- via WhatsApp messages and telephone calls and laptop.

His suspicious activities were detected by the investigating agencies quite some time back and his laptop and two mobiles were seized in January itself and as of now, his case has been handed over to the ATS - Anti Terrorist Sqaud - of the state of Maharashtra. His foreign visits are also now under the scanner.

And despite the fact that the case is of a very serious nature with long-term implications for India’s security there are increasing doubts whether the case could ever reach its fruition.

The first and foremost thing is the near silence maintained by mainstream media over this crucial exposure for a long time. Barring few reports here and there [1] the so-called watchdogs of democracy at the national level have largely ignored the case.

Interestingly an inkling of how media would handle this sensitive issue could be had from the initial reports of the case reported by ANI, an Indian news agency, which is known for its proximity to the present regime, [2] which is even privy to one on one interviews with its top leaders. Inadvertently or so it did not mention the name of the accused. The initial reports merely showed Prof Pradeep Kurulkar’s bearded face - without any name - which definitely could create a different impression about the whole case. [3]

Secondly, despite the wide ambit of the case, where the accused’s foreign visits are under scanner, which also involves looking into possible penetration of the neighbouring country’s sleuths in India’s defence research sector, the case has not been handed over to the NIA - the agency formed in the immediate aftermath of 2008 terrorist attack and is supposed to be more equipped and experienced in handling cases with cross border ramifications.

A state-level ATS (Anti Terrorist squad) has its limitations. Incidentally, the ATS, Maharashtra in particular does not have a very glorious record of handling issues in a professional and impartial manner. One can easily look at the way it botched cases of Hindutva terror - where handlers associated with Hindutva Supremacist ideology were found to be involved in terror acts - after the martyrdom of its then chief Hemant Karkare who had exposed their wide national network after the Malegaon bombing case (2008) [4]

Thirdly, as far as the charges against the accused are concerned, they are merely under the official secrets act 1923, remember neither the charges related to treason nor national security have been applied in the case and this is despite the fact that the official statement after his arrest underlined how he "[m]isused his post thereby compromising sensitive government secrets, which could pose a threat to India`s security if it falls into the hands of the enemy nation," [5]

Fourthly, since his arrest a few days before, the narrative of ’honeytrap’ is being slowly peddled [6] which according to critics can be used later to absolve him or slowly soft-peddle the case showing that the accused got trapped and his sharing secrets was inadvertent etc.

The question arises why the ruling dispensation, especially its investigating agencies has displayed such lack of alacrity in handling the case. Similar is the case with various Hindutva organisations - right from RSS to the likes of Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and their affiliated organisations, who are ready to raise a hue and cry over any such fake/real exposure.

Whether it is because of his long association with Hindutva Organisations? In fact, there are reports which show how he even participated in many of the programmes organised by a plethora of its affiliated organisations even played the Saxophone in their programmes. In fact, the day his alleged interaction with women Pakistani agents became public and was taken into custody, a section of the regional / Marathi media was seen sharing his deep connections with various affiliated organisations of the Hindutva brigade. There are images where he is seen addressing meetings organised to commemorate "Swatantryvir Savarkar’ or there are YouTube interviews purportedly sharing details of his alleged links with the fountainhead of such organisations since childhood. One such report he seems to be sharing that connections with it started from the days of his grandfather only and his son is also associated with it. [7]

Interestingly now the issue has slowly reached broader circles even the Congress party recently held a Press Conference sharing details of his alleged links with RSS [8] or others are also taking up the case

No doubt, not only the RSS but various Hindutva organisations will have to do lot of explaining how their ’nationalist ideology’ facilitates creation of such people who are ready to sell national secrets to the ’enemy country’ at will. It will not suffice that they formally say that thousands of people come and go and we cannot be held responsible for their behaviour [9]. A logic they have tried to effectively use when the phenomenon of Hindutva terror reached menacing proportions and many of the perpetrators involved in such acts - putting bombs in Mosques or trains like Samjhauta Express etc - were found to have been associated with Hindutva Supremacist Organisations [10]

Perhaps it is worth taking note that this is not the first time that people associated with Hindutva ideology are found to be involved in similar acts of treason and working for the Pakistani agency ISI. The Dhruv Saxena case from Madhya Pradesh must be fresh in people’s minds when an eleven member spy module led by him comprising of Mohit Agrawal, Balrametc was nabbed by the state ATS from different parts of Madhya Pradesh. Dhruv Saxena, the kingpin of this spy module was a district coordinator of BJP’s IT Cell [11]and he along with his co-conspirators were facilitating ISI by providing crucial information about Indian Army deployments. These reports also showed photographs which showed Dhruv sharing stage with Shiv Raj Singh Chauhan, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh or also seen with BJP’s National General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya.

Or one can as well look at the way BJP’s minority cell chief was found to be a Lashkar e Toiba operative. As per reports, Talib Hussain Shah was not only an active member of BJP but also the party’s social media in-charge in Jammu. This wanted terrorist and his accomplice were captured by the villagers in Jammu’s Reasi area with two AK rifles, several grenades and other arms and ammunition. (https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/lashkar-terrorist-caught-was-jammu-bjps-minority-morcha-it-cell-chief-3123483).

One of the damning revelations vis a vis RSS in recent times has been the affidavit filed by one Yashwant Shinde, [12] who had petitioned the courts that he be made a party in the Hindutva Organisations case who are found to be involved in Nanded Bomb blast [13] He had explained in a series of four interviews how he was trained to carry out covert operations in Pakistan and conduct bombings across India that could be blamed on Muslims. In 2003 and 2004, he alleged, his fellow trainees bombed mosques in the Maharashtra towns of Jalna, Purna and Parbhani. [14]

These stray-looking incidents - where the director of a leading organisation like DRDO has been nabbed for working for Pakistani ISI or some associates of the ruling saffron dispensation engaging in similar acts have been caught red-handed in their acts or Hindutva activists ready to come out to expose how they were being trained to conduct bombings across India which could be blamed on Muslims etc should not lull us into a slumber that all such acts should be blamed on the particular individuals and there is no pattern behind it and there is no organised effort behind it.

The biggest tragedy of the 2014 ascent of BJP led by Modi at the centre has been that the ongoing discussion on the phenomenon of Hindutva terror which had slowly started gaining pace has suddenly stopped. [15] Responsible public officials engaged in unearthing the menace further have been either pressurised or been silenced [16]

In the present ambience - where the votaries of the project of turning a secular, democratic India into a majoritarian Hindu Rashtra are on the upswing whether we will be able to reach the real masterminds is a live question.

The arrest of Prof Pradeep Kurulkar, is a deeper symptom of the rot within these votaries of Hindu Rashtra, who make lot of noise about being ’nationalist’ but are essentially bigots who are ready to sell national secrets to the enemy for sexual or other favours or ready to go to any extent – even putting bombs in religious places to kill innocent people - and further their anti-human project.


[16https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/rohini-salian-names-nia-officer-who-told-her-to-go-soft/ ; thewire.in/law/i-am-waiting-for-the-right-moment-to-strike-i-will-speak-up-rohini-salian

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