Kashmir almost mainstreamed, Hurriyat finished: Former RAW chief AS Dulat

Former Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) chief AS Dulat has claimed that Kashmir has “almost totally mainstreamed,” with Pakistan out of the people’s minds and the Hurriyat “all finished.”

Speaking at the ongoing Jaipur Literature Festival on Sunday, Dulat maintained that there was no need to scrap Article 370 of the Constitution that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir. He said there was nothing left in it anyway, and it was only a “fig leaf.”

The Centre abrogated Article 370 on August 5, 2019.

Harry’s Afghanistan and Kashmir

Dulat cited Prince Harry’s recently released memoir Spare, and said the former senior British royal wrote that “in the abnormalities of life,” the only thing he found “normal and enjoyed was Afghanistan.” Dulat said he could say the same about Kashmir.

Prince Harry had joined British troops on the frontline, fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Dulat also believes that militancy will continue to come down but “terrorism will stay unless we sort it out with Pakistan” and batted for dialogue with the neighbouring country.

Also read: Only talks with Pakistan can end terror in Jammu & Kashmir: Farooq Abdullah

“Pakistan has been an inherent part of Kashmir. Since 1947, what the government of India has been trying to do is to mainstream Kashmir and get Pakistan out of the Kashmiri minds. And I think we’ve succeeded to a very large extent.

“Today, Kashmir has almost totally mainstreamed. The separatism, the Hurriyat that we talk about is all finished,” said Dulat, who headed the intelligence agency during 1999-2000.

“Delhi doesn’t see the greys”

He was in conversation with senior journalist Mandira Nayar about his latest book A Life in the Shadows: A Memoir, published by HarperCollins India.

“I had argued that we didn’t have to do away with Article 370 because there was nothing left in it. It was only a fig leaf, which had provided a Kashmiri a little bit of dignity…,” the retired IPS officer of the 1965 batch explained.

It was, however, unfortunate that Delhi had always viewed the region in “black and white” and ignored its “greys,” he said.

While referring to Prince Harry’s remark on his stint with the British military in Afghanistan, he said, “I could say the same about Kashmir. We still love it, enjoy it, and go there… Unfortunately, Delhi has always been seen in it black and white. They don’t understand the greys.”

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“If you go to Kashmir, not just for holiday to Gulmarg or Pahalgam, but go and interact with the people in Srinagar, you’ll find they are the kindest, gentlest, and nicest people. The grey comes from deviousness.

“But I’ve spoken to a lot of Kashmiri leaders, including Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who is presently locked up. And he says, ‘Yes, we tend to be a little devious, but that’s what you’ve taught us because you’ve never spoken the truth to us. So, we also lie to you,’” he added.

“Pakistan visit was a great experience”

Dulat, who is the only RAW chief to have visited Pakistan, said he had been to the neighbouring country four times between 2010 and 2012. “I have been to Lahore twice and also visited Islamabad and Karachi. It was a great experience,” he added.

Dulat said he got to know Pakistan better through Track 2 or backchannel diplomacy. In his latest book, A Life in the Shadows, he also talks about Ajit Doval, the current National Security Advisor of India.

At one point, there was a conversation about bringing Doval across to Pakistan, Dulat said, a chance the neighbours lost. Asked to draw parallels between the “Doval Doctrine” and the “Dulat Doctrine,” the former head of India’s external intelligence agency said he didn’t have a doctrine.

“Mr Doval has a doctrine… I don’t know. People talk about it,” he added.

“We understand Kashmir, Pakistan doesn’t”

Dulat, who retired from service in 2000, said efforts were also made to start a military-to-military dialogue.

“We were talking over each other. When we began to talk, suddenly, the Pakistanis complained, nothing was happening. Everything is status quo ante. We must try to find a way to move forward. I said, ‘Just invite Ajit Doval to Lahore.’”

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Incidentally, Doval attended the first two sessions of the Track 2 diplomacy, he said. “As 2014 got closer, he knew which way he was headed. And, so he opted out,” Dulat said.

Dulat said he has often squabbled with his Pakistani friends who talk about Kashmir with “a lot of authority.”

“But I tell them, ‘You don’t know Kashmir. Kashmir is in India. We deal with them on an everyday basis; so, we understand them. A Kashmiri will tell you something in Islamabad, something in Srinagar. It’s the same between Srinagar and Delhi, but at least we understand each other.”

“We must talk to Pakistan and China”

According to Dulat, a “new murmur” has started in Srinagar “that Sheikh Sahab made a huge mistake in 1947, that Kashmir should have gone with Jinnah. But that’s a small, minuscule number,” he said.

India’s current “muscular policy” was paying dividends in curbing militancy in Kashmir, he said.

Also read: ‘Have learnt our lesson’: Pak PM urges Modi to discuss burning issues, Kashmir

“My argument is militancy has come down and will continue to come down. But terrorism will stay unless we sort it out with Pakistan. It’s important to talk to Pakistan and also China,” said Dulat, who served in Kashmir when militancy was at its peak.

Dulat also spoke fondly of Asad Durrani, his counterpart and former director general of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Their equation took the shape of the 2018 book The Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace.

(With agency inputs)