The Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi

Title: The Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi

Author: Neena Gopal

Publisher: Penguin Viking, 2016 (First)

ISBN: 9780670088706

Pages: 273

Rajiv Gandhi’s swearing in as the prime minister of India after his mother’s assassination by her own bodyguards was a paradigm shift in the orientation of Indian politics. He brought in a refreshing wind of a short-lived optimism that wafted gently across the political and economic domains of the country. He brokered peace deals with the Mizos, Sikhs and Sri Lankan Tamils. Even in the face of this impressive record, there were forces inimical to him lurking at every corner of the disputed areas in which his peace came into being. In a carefully orchestrated suicide attack, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and its leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran assassinated the icon of the new face of Indian politicians in 1991. This incident, its antecedents and its aftermath that finally led to the tigers being vanquished by the Sri Lanka army in 2009 are covered in this book. The author is a journalist and what makes this book unique is that she was the person who did the very last interview with Rajiv, just moments before the fateful blast on that night at Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu. The author describes the gory scene which she witnessed after the blast. A great attribute of this work is that it followed up on events after the assassination too. The survey in fact extends to the year 2015 in which she visited Jaffna again to take stock of the ground reality six years after the tigers were wiped off. It is disconcerting to note that the frustration and anger among ordinary Tamils is building up on account of the Sinhala majority not yet fully taking them into confidence. A repeat of the three decades of civil war and indescribable strife would only spell the doom of the island nation. This book calls on all interested parties – both local and international – to take stock of the present situation to bring about a lasting peace.

Gopal puts up a clear picture of the chain of events that led to the brutal murder of the young leader. The illustrated scenario is that of naiveté and lack of experience in doing realpolitik on the part of Gandhi. This is quite excusable as he was reluctant even to enter politics after the accidental death of his younger brother, Sanjay. Indira Gandhi shrewdly followed the policy of keeping the Sri Lankans on tenterhooks with liberal assistance in resources to Tamil separatists. When Rajiv rose to power, this situation put him in a dilemma. The logistical support India was extending to Lankan Tamils was similar to what Pakistan showered on Kashmiri separatists. Being a gentleman as a person, though inexperienced in politics, this upset Rajiv Gandhi. He tried hard to reach a political settlement of the vexed issue. He managed to reach a hodgepodge deal with both sides in 1987 which was bound to crumble even before the ink dried on the signatures. Sri Lanka wanted Indian army to keep peace as specified in the accord that is to be a precondition to provincial autonomy. LTTE took exception to this move which would have forced them to disarm. Skirmishes between LTTE and the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) soon turned into a battle in which heavy damages were inflicted on both sides. It slowly dawned on Indian leaders that this would be a Vietnam for the Indian army. Around this time, Rajiv’s name was tarnished by the Bofors gun scam beyond redemption. His government fell in the 1989 election and V P Singh came to power. The new government was beset with slowing down of the economy and was in no mood to continue with the Sri Lankan misadventure. It recalled the forces in 1990. But the fratricidal strife in the ruling coalition was getting ugly and unmanageable. Events moved swiftly with V P Singh stepping down and Chandrasekhar assuming premiership with Congress support. It was apparent to anybody, including the prime minister, that his seat was secure only till the Congress was fully prepared for fresh polls. Just five months later, the moment arrived. On a flimsy excuse of snooping by the government, Rajiv withdrew his support to the government which fell soon after. Elections were called for the month of May 1991. Rajiv Gandhi was touted to win the election and come back as premier.

LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran was disturbed at Chandrasekhar coming to power with Rajiv Gandhi’s support. With the elections announced and Congress’ return on the cards, he was terrified at the prospect of Rajiv back in power and sending Indian troops again to Lanka. He wanted to put an end to Rajiv’s life in his first political assassination of a foreign leader. He was helped by the scant security provided to Rajiv. The author is quite vocal on this point and she puts the blame squarely on V P Singh’s door. It was he who decided to scrap the security by special commandos provided for former prime ministers. She claims that Rajiv Gandhi was too proud to ask for Z-category security and his political opponents lacked the generosity of spirit to give it to him especially when Kashmiri and Khalistani rebels were baying for his blood. Rajiv didn’t trust Prabhakaran and his LTTE. His idea was to devolve self-rule to more moderate Tamil outfits like TULF and EPRLF. This was greatly resented by the LTTE supremo who harboured ambitions of ruling over a greater Eelam by setting up the new regime annexing India’s Tamil Nadu state as well.

Prabhakaran might have relished the moment when the news of Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination reached him. But little did he realize that he had met his nemesis. Killing Rajiv was the biggest blunder the Tamil tigers had committed which eventually led to the organization’s humiliating defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka army in 2009. The book dedicates a chapter on the unraveling of the Tamil cause in Sri Lanka. India provided all the resources in men, material, finance and weapons during the growth phase of LTTE. All that stopped completely after Rajiv Gandhi’s murder. Indian secret services switched sides and collaborated with the Sri Lankans to cut down the Tamil menace. It even tried to cause dissent among the tigers and enrolled the support of Mahattaya, the second in the organization. The idea was that Mahattaya should depose Prabhakaran and take the reins of the force. However the plot was somehow revealed and Prabhakaran lost no time in eliminating his second-in-command after weeks of torture. The tigers signed a deal with the Lankan government in 2002 mainly to buy time since they had no intention at all of reaching a peaceful settlement. After supposedly recouping losses, Prabhakaran began a series of suicide bombings against Sri Lankan top brass including the army chief and defence secretary in 2006. But this time, Prabhakaran’s luck had run out. The world had changed after 9/11 and was not at all prepared to acquiesce in to the tactics of a terrorist organization like LTTE. Indian and international aid flowed to Sri Lanka, whose army began a determined last war against it. The LTTE soon lost its strongholds in the North and East of the country. They made a last-ditch attempt to escape keeping the civilians as human shields. This only made the plight of civilians pathetic. As estimated by the UN, 40,000 of them were killed in the death trap at Vaduvakkal, laid by the army. Hundreds of women were raped and the tigers watched helplessly. Finally, the moment came when the war ended, with Prabhakaran’s mutilated body found by Sri Lankan troops at Nandikkadal. Both of his sons were also killed by the army.

Being a journalist and on quite expected lines, the book includes sensational claims without much supporting evidence. During the anti-American ‘socialist’ phase of Indian politics, the relationship between the two largest democracies in the world had reached its lowest ebb following the populist but short-sighted measures of Indira Gandhi and the country’s strategic dependence on the Soviet Union. Naturally, the US wanted to establish its bases encircling India. But even with this background, the author’s claim that the proposed radio transmitter of the Voice of America at Trincomalee in Sri Lanka was a bid to snoop on India is a little too far-fetched. She assumes a condescending attitude to anything Indian in the first few chapters of the book, with references to peeling paint of the airport building and potholes on the roads. These peeling paint and potholes are the fetishes of some foreign authors on India, which is faithfully copied by Gopal. A curious fact to note about the book is that it doesn’t ruffle any feathers. There are no new revelations upsetting anybody. A good index is attached, but a few photographic plates would have added much interest. The book is good to read, but M R Narayan Swamy’s ‘Tiger Vanquished’, which is reviewed earlier in this blog, is much better.

The book is highly recommended.

Rating: 3 Star