Rahul’s book fails to answer questions, but details are revealing

Book: The lover boy of Bahawalpur: How the Pulwama case was cracked 

Author: Rahul Pandita 

Publisher: Juggernaut. 

inam ul rehman

 

As the car laden with many hundred kilograms of explosives rammed into a paramilitary convoy on February 14, Kashmiris watched in disbelief that killing of such magnitude took place in “world’s most militarised area” where surveillance of every human is unparallel. After the initial disbelief murmurs of this blast being inside job started to do rounds. It picked up, and even photos were circulated to prove that the suicide bomber Aadil Dar was paraded before a press conference by police. Do these rumours have any source? Of course, Aadil Dar the suicide bomber, and Aadil Dar the arrested one were different entities.

 

You know what is common between Noor Muhammad Tantary, Ashiq Nengroo, and Abbas Rather. Noor is considered revivalist of the Jaish-i-Mohammad, and one who put “many boys on a suicide mission”. Ashiq, and Abbas were overground workers and also provided information to the police. Noor was termed as the “merchant of death” by Delhi high court and sentenced for life. Then how was Noor released? According to the author in jail, some persons met him who convinced him to work for them. In order to facilitate his release and make it look ordinary, he was first transferred to Kashmir and later released on parole.    

 

Before being released Noor beseeched “a central investigation agency to use his services to counter-terrorism in Kashmir”. To prove his words, he provided information to the intelligence agency, but only of those men whom “the Jaish wanted to bump off,” according to the author. Noor was finally killed but not before he had set up an elaborate network for the Jaish militants. His militant organisation had so much trust in him that it would say even if it sees Noor in an army chopper it won’t suspect him of betrayal. 

 

Now let us assume what Rahul has written is true and fact, but how does it stop one not to think that maybe Noor was working for the agencies, or Ashiq was also involved in the suicide bombing? Maybe the agency or agencies responsible for handling these people were tasked to go for a low-level suicide bombing to favour certain individuals or political party? Maybe the handlers involved in it were not expecting that they would be tricked again, and the bang would be a colossal one bringing India Pakistan nearly to a nuclear war? Although the author does pick up a line that the people said it was done to boost Narendra Modi’s victory in the 2019 election, but he brazenly dismisses it without answering why not to take these rumours seriously.  

 

Similarly, Rahul is unable to put it on the record how Waiz-ul-Islam, a teenager, came into the militancy network. His case is narrated in one line without informing how militants were able to make such an elaborate network. We know in the Valley once an overground worker is identified, or someone becomes a militant the police use universal forensic extraction device (UFED) that bypasses every password to monitor the activity of his relatives and friends. Didn’t the police use UFED to spy on OGWs? 

 

It does not mean that it was done at the behest of the Indian prime minister. Since the Jaish came into contact with worldwide proscribed al Qaeda outfit it learned stealth, and here Rahul tells readers that it used this stealth to confuse intelligence agencies.

  

The use of human resources depends on who uses their energy effectively for efficacy. And here the author says that militants were ahead of intelligence agencies to use their sources which they had meticulous cultivated. 

 

The mastermind of the Pulwama attack were Pakistani nationals belonging to the Jaish militant organisation. They were led by Umar urf Idrees Bhai, according to the author the latter made a small mistake that helped the counter-insurgency grid to eliminate him. But as per Rahul, he cannot reveal the “small mistake” because investigators have barred him. What is the fun of writing the book on the mastermind if you cannot reveal that one “small mistake”?   

 

There are no easy answers to how actionable intelligence was not acted upon, or how militants outsmarted the counter insurgency grid. We would never know many things that took place in Kashmir because the longer the insurgency goes the murkier it becomes.  

If you watch crime patrol stuff on the television you won’t question Rahul Pandita’s book, because it is written in such a pacy manner that the reader will glide through the book without questioning many things. 

 

But you must read it. There are many details including photos which will surprise readers. Lastly, it won’t be a surprise if a movie or web series is made on this book.

Author's image courtesy: twitter

Dilip Kumar named Dilsoz Colony in our area, and it has stayed so.

inam ul rehman

 

The first time I heard the name of Dilip Kumar was in the early 90s when my father mentioned to me that the name of our adjacent Dilsoz Colony was kept by the former when he used to frequently visit the Valley. At the time I had no interest in him. 

 

I was puzzled why of all actors Dilip Kumar’s name of the colony stuck with the people.  Those days Doordarshan used to telecast classic Bollywood movies once a weeknight. As a teen, I had no interest in black and white movies which langured on. But the puzzle of why Dilip’s name stuck with the place made me uncomfortable.  Internet was not yet to be midwifed, google was in clouds, and the only source was books. But a school-going kid reading books on film stars was taboo. 

 

So, I started to read magazines, particularly Urdu film magazines and there was plenty written on him. His film Saudagar was then a runaway success, Urdu magazines went over the top to praise his acting prowess at the age of 70. I realised that the Urdu magazines were always putting him on the highest pedestal! I also came to know that his real name is Yusuf Khan. His being a Muslim may have been one of the strong reasons why the people of Kashmir liked him, and why the name of Dilsoz Colony stuck on the tongues of the people. 

 

Then I watched late-night Bollywood classic Daag at my uncle’s home, (it was a time of the early 90s when we used to move to our Uncle’s home because of encounters, and fear of paramilitary troops frequently searching homes) followed by Yahudi, Azaad, Aan, Mughal-e-Azam, Madhumati, Ganga Jamuna, and many more. Later Doordarshan started to broadcast movies daily on afternoons. It was a chance to watch Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Shami Kapoor, Sanjeev Kumar, et al. As I watched Dilip and his contemporaries I noticed he uses silence as his strong point, his eyes were expressive, was adept at dancing wearing a dhoti, he was the character in his movies, not the actor, songs in his films were not catchy unlike Shami Kapoor, Raj Kapoor, or Dev Anand. But strangely couldn’t watch Devdas, because I thought it was too gloomy. The strength, as I realised, of his films was Dilip Kumar.  

After watching his movies, I developed interest to see what was then called “art/parallel cinema”. I began to see Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Smita Patil, Shabana Azami, Deepti Naval, Farooq Sheikh, Pankaj Kapoor, Pawan Malhotra, Amol Palekar, Nana Patekar, et al, all on DD. 

Then in 2002, Shahrukh Khan’s Devdas was released. I didn’t watch it either. Many critics panned Shahrukh and rightly so for his ham performance in Devdas. As a student of mass communication and journalism at the University of Kashmir in 2003, one of our senior’s submitted his student dissertation on “Devdas vs Devdas”, it sparked an interest to watch both movies.  I decided first to watch Devdas of Dilip. The artisan that he was Dilip looked every bit the character. His character of forlorn, doomed, and self-destructive lover was perhaps possible for him to play because he had experienced it in his life. He was in love with Kamini Kaushala, but she married her brother-in-law following the death of her sister.  Anyways, Devdas of Dilip is unmatched. Both he and Suchitra Sen are exceptional in the movie. Shahrukh on the other hand was loud, exaggerated, and never the character but every bit the star.   Devdas was the apogee of his acting, although Ganga Jamuna is considered his pinnacle.

 

 After that Dilip became redundant. But he returned. 

 

This time as the central character of all movies starting with Kranti. His show off with the then reigning superstar Amitabh Bachchan in Shakti movie once again reinforced that Dilip is not only the star but the actor as well. Like almost in all films here also he overshadowed Amitabh Bachchan. To his credit, Amitabh also held his own in front of the regal acting of his co-star. Shabir Mujhaid, a former producer at the DD Kendra Srinagar, once told in a gathering that during an interview with Raj Kapoor he asked him about his contemporary actors to which Raj Kapoor said that he believes that except Yousuf Saeb all have stagnated.    

 

One can say his acting was class, films were meaningful, essayed the characters which were politically progressive. His élan, grace, grip, and ebullience were unmatched. You can’t find both the star and the actor in the same person in Bollywood except Dilip Kumar.   

                        

Image courtesy: Filmfare