inam ul rehman
Book: A life in the shadows: A memoir
Author: A S Dulat
Publisher: Harper Collins India
Pages: 264 pages
As the author of the book Dulat comes across a person of considerate, tolerant, knowledgeable, fun loving, and a great listener. The latter quality makes him a special person to develop rapport in Kashmir. And boy, his CV is full of North and South Pole people in Kashmir. Dulat, as his books testify, knows all the important persons of Jammu and Kashmir.
He has already penned down two books, “The Vajpayee Years”, and “The Spy Chronicles” written in partnership with his ISI counterpart Assad Durrani. The latter one showed his subtility in nudging Durrani to talk more. However, the book under review is a memoir, and is not restricted to Kashmir though the latter has occupied many pages. I have a strong hunch that the Bollywood movie Lamhaa, released in 2010, was based on Dulat’s experience in Kashmir just like Aiyaari movie was based on the technical support division set up by the former Army Chief General VK Singh.
The leitmotif of Dulat’s book is that talking is better than killing. It was during his reign that Hizbul Mujahideen of Kashmir proposed a ceasefire—a decision which split the HM and finally led to the fratricide killing of Majeed Dar, who was the main arbiter of the ceasefire. Dulat also saw that the moderate Hurriyat Conference came on to the table for talks.
Readers should not forget that Dulat has written this book within the perimeters of the official secrets act. And as such Shabir Shah, according to Dulat, “We built him up, but maybe we were the let downs.” He also laments that many people who connived with intelligence agencies while staying in anti-India camp, and were later picked up by the NIA in money laundering cases. “I used to call them the Dirty Dozen. But nothing was done with them either. More importantly, when combined, all of this lets the process of intelligence gathering down,” writes Dulat.
He mentions some interesting anecdotes about famous personalities, and particularly his travels with former president Giani Zail Singh will leave readers in splits.
Spies are great actors, manipulators, and understand the human psyche better than psychologists. Since spying is considered a dirty field, no credit is given to these people for manipulating things and events in their country’s favour. About Indian spying agencies Dulat says that while English spies keep every detail Indian agencies do not keep tab on people for long! An assertion that will be strongly denied in Kashmir.
As a spook, Dulat does not mention any party or a person with contempt. For this he uses Farooq Abdullah and his rancour for the Jamaat-i-Islami of Jammu and Kashmir. While Farooq Abdullah and the Muftis are frenemies, the NC and the Jamat-i-Islami are adversaries. Dulat while casting aspersion on Mehbooba Mufti does not mention Syed Ali Geelani. For Dulat, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Farooq Abdullah hold the key to the Kashmir solution.
His final chapter on Ajit Doval is riveting. He presents him as a tough master who is not shy of using force where things do not work. It seems Dulat wants to send a message to every insurgent and disgruntled: if you want to talk I am here, otherwise, Doval will screw your head.
At the end of the book, Dulat comes up with a cryptic message, which the incumbent prime minister of India said during an investiture ceremony for the R&AW, “Goodwill banana bahut zaroor hai”. It is a message or a bait (depending on which side of the fence you are) intended for all who matter.
He erroneously states that militant commander Burhan Wani was killed before Eid, he was, in fact, killed after the Eid, (9th July, 2016) and the presser given by Northern Commander, DS Hooda, was given on July 16, not on June 16 as stated by the spook.
After reading any spy book the only question that comes to mind: can we trust spooks?
