By Zubair Kashmeri and rian McAndrew
James Lorimer and Co, Toronto Price $16.00
A gripping tale, cleverly told, with clarity and brevity, Soft TarBet, delves into areas where solid proof is often elusive and evidence Tarely follows a straight path. Frequently, one hunts for the smoking gun in vain. Yet the two authors, Zuhair Kashmeri and Brian McAndrew, journalists respectively for the Canadian Papers Globe and Mail and The Toronto Star have shown what good investigative journalists may accomplish when they ply their trade honestly and vigorously.
The thesis of the book is that after she regained power in 1978 in India, Indira Gandhi had one important item on her agenda to divide the Sikhs at home and abroad so decisively that when she ultimately were to try to crush them, no effective retaliation could occur. That she miscalculated is history. Since the largest, best established community of expatriate Sikhs was in Canada, it was targeted for an extensive intelligence Operation undertaken by the Indian government, The object was to undermine the Sikh community diplomatic officials in Canada, as well as members of the Canadian Sikh community, Kashmeri and McBride trace the intricate web of espionage and involvement by the Indian government on Canadian soil.
There is little doubt that the two reporters make their case. They name Indian diplomats who were asked to leave Canada perhaps for their undesirable activities. They interviewed paid informers who had been recruited by the Indian government; They document cases of human rights violations by the Indian government. Finally, they point the finger of suspicion at the Indian government and the long arm of its intelligence services for the dreadful explosion of Air India Flight 182 over Ireland in 1985 which claimed 329 lives. This was the terrible explosion for which the Indian government has blamed Sikh terrorists all these years yet the Canadian investigative panel found no evidence to sustain such a conclusion. Unfortunately, in this case, the findings of Kashmeri and McBride, though logical and attractive remain conjectural; hard evidence has yet to be uncovered. The authors also clearly document that the failure of the Canadian government to confront the Indian government over such gross violations of Canadian laws and sovereignty was due to its overriding concern for relations with a very large trading partner. It seemed that business interests triumphed. ‘over concerns for human rights. India is being increasingly labeled the regional bully in South Asia for its meddling in the affairs of its neighbors the conclusiors of the book are consistent with that image. The surprising part is that the Indian government which is normally quick to react to poor press particularly abroad, has remained so uncharacteristically and eerily quiet and unresponsive to the very strong allegations in the book. Reputations of some people like Bhindranwale, Bhullar, Parmar Reyet and Rode will need to be reexamined. Readers will be provoked by the book which is an important purpose of a well written book. However controversial or circumstantial, enough evidence is presented to make a damning case against the Indian government and indict it for some very undesirable behavior.
Despite some typographical glitches, it is a compelling tale. It finishes with events in 1988, yet it leaves one with feeling of an unfinished story. The book cries out for a thorough and an honest inquiry into how a government might have set out to subvert and destroy a community for its own domestic political reasons.
The book carries a brief but useful summary of the Sikh religion and of the growth of Sikh disaffection with the Indian government despite promises made to them by Mahatma Gandhi and Jawahar Lal Nehru before India’s independence.
- Singh (Dr. LJ. Singh is a Professor of
Anatomy at New York University).
Article extracted from this publication >> September 29, 1989
