Why Priyanka must not pursue Rajiv's murder trial – II

Why Priyanka must not pursue Rajiv's murder trial – II


Rajiv’s death certainly did benefit a lot of people and also generated a sympathy wave, which definitely brings out a purpose for his killing. But the people then, are established cronies today, provoking them would only lead to more dastardly acts.

RAJIV GANDHI was also hated by the kin of Indian peace keeping force (IPKF) soldiers, who were pushed into the obviously suicidal mission against the determined militia. There was no question of winning against a cadre that had nothing more to lose and was ready to bite a cyanide-capsule if caught. The impulsive politician heaped the most humiliating defeat on the mighty Indian military machine, resulting in heavy casualties. Also, there were many in India – including in the faction-ridden Congress, particularly in Tamil Nadu – who stood to benefit from his premature death, and did benefit immensely from the sympathy wave it generated.

It would however be in the best interests of the Vadras as well as the Gandhis that the matter is left where it now stands. By pursuing the conspiracy details, Priyanka may be provoking established cronies in New Delhi, enjoying top posts in the party and government, to commit dastardly acts to harm even the kids. Exhuming the ghost of Rajiv Gandhi is bound to raise such a stink that ordinary citizens of India will be taken aback by its intensity. They would completely lose respect for the entire Indian system, including judiciary, where people can be readily bought. It is better to let them believe that the killing was carried out due to “personal animosity” of the LTTE chief Prabhakaran towards Rajiv Gandhi, keeping their faith in Judge Thomas of Supreme Court.

According to the honourable SC judges, “Absolutely no evidence existed that any one of the conspirators ever desired the death of any Indian other than Rajiv Gandhi, though several people were killed.” However, Judge Wadhwa, famously stated that there was nothing on record to show that the intention to kill Rajiv Gandhi was to overawe the government! Hence, it was held that it was not a terrorist act under terrorists and disruptive activities prevention act (TADA).

But it was under that weird legislation that the Indian ‘verdict’ was based. Under TADA, confessions extracted by police were treated as valid evidence. Unless a person proved charges leveled as false, he/she could be hanged. The legal validity of such hush-hush trials, where only the SC is the option for appeal, cannot stand judicial scrutiny in any civilised society and has rightly been scrapped.

The special investigative team (SIT) headed by ‘specialist’ officer DR Karthikeyan framed charges within a record time of one year. Prabhakaran and his two top aides were arraigned, but obviously they did not care to even acknowledge the farce. Twelve of the accused were conveniently dead by the time the trials began. The SIT had decided at the outset that none other than the 26 accused – mainly Sri Lankan refuges who found themselves caught between the devil and deep sea, Colombo’s atrocities and TADA court – would be prosecuted. The cops did not give even a cursory look at the very obvious connections of political leaders and other big guns, who stood to benefit from the incident. Designated TADA judge Navaneetham obliged by awarding death sentence to all the 26 accused, including a 17-year-old. After dispensing this ‘justice’ and signing the judgement, he symbolically broke the nib of the pen he used!

Ironically, while this feat of ‘solving’ Rajiv’s murder was accomplished in just under six years, not a single person has been found guilty in the 1984 massacre of 20,000 Sikhs in Delhi, which Rajiv had considered “bound to happen.”

Although Sri Lanka refused to ban LTTE (until very recently), the Indian administration went ahead with banning the outfit completely, a move that smacks of a big cover up. The LTTE on its part has only said that it was “great tragedy, a monumental historical tragedy, which we deeply regret.”

A ’judicial’ commission headed by a typical Indian HC judge Milap Chand Jain prepared a 5000-plus page interim report on the ‘conspiracy’. Jain indicted even TN CM Karunanidhi, and every other Tamil for playing a role for the assassination! The Jain document eventually happened to be an intriguing political maneuver to topple the non-Congress Central government. The episode has also managed to silence TN’s Dravidian politicians about any involvement of the state’s Congress politicians in the conspiracy.

Whatever be, Priyanka’s justification, she will have nothing to gain for herself or her children by revisiting the sordid saga of farce, carried out in the name of investigation. As her grandmother Indira had exposed during her emergency rule, India’s governing class is stuffed with creeping crawlies. There can therefore be no justice that goes against their entrenched interests.

Natteri Adigal, 19 April 2008, Saturday

Why Priyanka must not pursue Rajiv's murder trial – I