The Khalistan Conspiracy | EXTRACT

Spanish philosopher George Santayana had once said that those who do not read history are doomed to repeat it. This is why, on the 36th death anniversary of Indira Gandhi, it is important to remember and examine the events that led up to her death.

The narrative in former R&AW officer G.B.S. Sidhu’s The Khalistan Conspiracy moves from Punjab to Canada, the US, Europe and Delhi, looking to sift the truth from the political obfuscation and opportunism. It examines the role that the ruling party allegedly played in the heart-rending violence that devoured thousands of innocent lives in the aftermath of Mrs Gandhi’s assassination. Read this extract to know more:

‘Tomorrow may be too late’
October 21 was a Sunday. I had accompanied my wife and two children to the Lady Hardinge Medical College campus, adjacent to Connaught Place, to meet my wife’s eldest sister. On our return journey, as we approached the crossing of Akbar Road and Safdarjung Road, while turning towards Gymkhana Club, I saw two young policemen posted at the corner of 1 Akbar Road, part of the prime minister’s official residential complex. Both were armed with Sten guns.
One of them was a 5-foot-8-inch stocky Sikh who appeared to be in his mid-twenties with a closely trimmed beard. Seeing him posted there, I expressed my surprise to my wife as to why armed Sikh police security guards, who were removed from duty at the PM’s residence after Operation Blue Star, had been redeployed. ‘This is the surest and the easiest way of getting Mrs Gandhi assassinated!’ I exclaimed in dismay. From the photographs that appeared in the newspapers later, I identified the young Sikh police constable I had seen as one of the two assassins, Satwant Singh.
On reaching office the next morning, I wrote a small note by hand and addressed it to (Director, R&AW) Gary Saxena. In it I described precisely what I had observed the previous afternoon. In addition to writing that it was the surest and the easiest way of getting the PM killed, I specifically mentioned that all members of the Sikh VVIP security detail posted at the PM’s residence must be removed at the earliest, for tomorrow may be too late. Also, a detailed enquiry should be conducted to find out who had recommended or decided their recall, and under what circumstances. Separately, I had asked my personal assistant Sita Lakshmi to prepare an envelope addressed to the director, marked, ‘to be opened by addressee only’.
I then paused to consider the pros and cons of sending that note to Gary Saxena. Keeping in view the rural background of the police constabulary, still nursing a tribal mentality, and for whom avenging the attack on the Golden Temple complex was a priority over any other consideration, I had no doubt that an armed person like Satwant Singh, singly or in collaboration with one or more Sikh policemen, would make an attempt to assassinate Indira Gandhi sooner rather than later. But, I thought, if such an attempt was made the same afternoon or within a day or two, there was every chance that whoever was instrumental in bringing back the Sikh policemen on duty would try to deflect attention towards me by falsely accusing me of being part of the conspiracy.
In the prevailing environment of the time, a Sikh could become an easy target of any such insinuation. I reminded myself of the well-known proverb, ‘Discretion is the better part of valour’, and finally decided not to send the note to Gary. Therefore, when Sita Lakshmi returned with the envelope, I told her to leave it with me, and as soon as she left the room I shredded both the note and the envelope.
Afterwards, of course, I felt remorse for not sending that note to the director. I did come to know through the departmental grapevine that Kao had also expressed his reservations about the recall of Sikh guards at the PM’s residence. He had suggested that in case it was not possible to remove them, no two Sikh armed guards should be posted together on duty at the same time and at the same place. That was precisely what happened on the day Indira Gandhi was assassinated. On the plea that he had an upset stomach, which may require him to visit the toilet often, Satwant Singh got his duty changed to the inner circle where Beant Singh was already deployed.