“Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism”
– George Washington.
A country’s greatest threat arises not from the external forces but from those who don the garb of patriotism to spew the poison of Separatism and Secessionist Ideology among the masses. RSN Singh has explained in his book “Know the Anti-Nationals”, how grievously this network of organized terror and psychological subversion works, by brainwashing carried out by the so-called intellectual hub of Indian society. In the current era of technological escalations, the farrago of such misinformation often leaves the readers bewildered. Fake news, misinformation and tailored speeches to provoke rage and terror among the masses have often been the propaganda tool for the left-wing extremists. Containing 52 topics (10 of which are focused on Maoism), Colonel RSN Singh focuses mainly on Jihadism, Maoism, Pro Khalistan terror groups which work in sync with bandwidths suited to separatist’s propaganda, often directed by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
In Chapter 1, the author discusses the invisible violence carried out by LeT militants on the people of Kashmir. This violence varies from the sectorial hatred invoked by rioting to mob lynching for disrupting the harmony and unity of India by elements that have fascist and radical orthodox ideology. The voices of dissent are silenced in the name of support to Jihad.
Chapters 2 and 3 subsequently discuss the people, who in the name of freedom of speech raise the Anti-India Slogans when soldiers in Siachen are battling for their lives to protect the frontiers of India. The “Tukde Tukde Gang”, has been referred to as bunch of elite and woke liberal anti-nationalists, who receive scrumptious fundings from the ISI to fuel their Jihadists agenda right in young minds. Here, the author brings out a well-established linkage between the Jihadists and Maoists, which has been substantiated by findings on Red Corridor i.e., from Tirupati to Pashupatinath. The states such as Assam, Manipur have been recently added to the prolonged lists of states affected by left wing extremism which engulfs parts of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka.
The book also attempts to unravel certain intricate details in the public domain that have never seen the light of the day before. The author alludes to deep links established between the Hurriyat and the then government in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, which had done major harm in the 1990s by fueling the separatist’s movement headed by Geelani. The “Chimera of Hindu terror”, as mentioned in chapter 5 was unleashed to grab the eyeballs of the global platform by the Pakistan-sponsored ISI and USA’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA); and to rant about the Kashmir issue on the podium of UNSC. The “motivated” purpose of creating “Islamophobia” and “Hindu Terror” by doctored evidence was a poor attempt, in the author’s opinion. However, failing their propaganda, they drew out the victim card as pretending to be the agonizers, when they themselves continue to be the perpetrators of crime. The author felt that out of dying desperation to subvert the country’s attention to Hindu terror, the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack was planned as a ghastly plot.
Some of the major exposes made in the book include the case of former Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta, who had led a delegation of Home Ministry officers to Islamabad for talks, a day before the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack and had been spending extended vacation in Muree, a hill station in Pakistan. The author opines that such acts unleash a trail of doubts over the authenticity over the office of the former Home Secretary.
In chapter 6, the author then focuses on the Malegaon blasts, which he felt was a “malalignment” to defame Hindu organizations. Lt Col Purohit was chosen as a pawn to stage sinister crimes to fulfill agenda of this malalignment. In chapter 8, the author comments on Naxalism and alludes it to large scale extortion business run by Maoists who hound the progress of civilians residing in Naxal infested states.
In chapter 9, the author refers to Sardar Patel who had predicted about India’s two-front situation, after China took over Tibet and also by the betrayal of communists in India. He also mentions about the Soviets who were romancing with the idea of communism. They could subvert Indian intellect easily by infecting the educational institutions with colonial version of communism, stripping the Indians of their cultural pride. Following that, India was largely subjected to socialist and communist ideology to such an extent that in 1976 by 42nd Amendment, the term “Socialist” was added to the constitution of India.
The series of chapters that continue from 10 to 28, present a hyperchromatic mixture of CPI schism and rise of Pro China sentiments that gave birth to Left Wing Extremism(LWE) related to achieve the aim of group: “New Democratic Revolution” to overthrow comprador bureaucratic capitalism through protracted people’s war. Ironically, sources of funding came from membership fees and contributions, extortion and confiscation of wealth and income of the adversary and ‘revolutionary taxes’.
In chapter 13, the author mentions about the nexus discovered by Bengaluru Police between Chhota Shakeel’s men and Naxalite leaders. Chhota Shakeel who was acclaimed to be a part of Dawood Ibrahim’s ‘D’ company which had, in turn, ties to the Pakistani spy agency, the ISI. Hence according to the author, Naxalite- ‘D’ Company partnership could be encouraged by the ISI in order to prolong the insurgency, and engage into yet another proxy war.
In chapter 20, the author says that there was a speculation amongst the officials that following the crackdown on cross-border drug cartels along the Afghan-Pakistan trafficking route, Naxalites could seize the opportunity to promote their drug trafficking from their opium trade. It was suspected that Naxalites were profiting from harvesting and trafficking cannabis from Orissa, parts of which were under Maoist control, to other parts of the country and the region. In chapter 22, the author has extensively written about 500 Maoists who had undergone training with the Student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), a banned organization which had ties with the ISI, in 2008, thus establishing the connection between Maoists and LeT terrorists. In chapter 23, the author mentions the alleged war on democracy waged by anti-social elements that are responsible for rigging EVM machines and manipulating the voting percentages via sheer violence at booths. Chapter 24 discusses about the planned assassination of Sushil Pandit, a Kashmiri activist, who according to the author, had been the target of a politically motivated murder. He hints towards the shady side of politicians who frequently visit Dubai, which is the hub for orchestration of anti-India activities. A major insight on the Naxal- terror based on Maoist ideology is given in chapter 27, 28 and 29. As per the author, the Maoists of India have been portrayed as the fourth deadliest terror outfit after Taliban, Islamic State and Boko Haram. The author alludes that Naxalism terrorizes business, communication, education, development and political activity. Maoism is a proxy war by inimical interests like China and some Western countries.
In chapter 30, the author discusses the “Theological war that tears India” or the alleged war waged on democracy by the “Tukde Tukde” gang from Begusarai. Chapter 31 tries to explore the Islamic state footprints in India. The author substantiates this theory by citing the attack on Pathankot IAF airbase and interlinking of Kashmiri students to Hizbul Mujahideen and Ansar Ghazwat-ul Hind who had been actively advocating the idea of Al- Jihad in the name of Holy Islam to terrorize the civilians.
Chapter 33 talks about those, who under the guise of anti-CAA activism have activated the ‘Third Front’, i.e., the internal front against India. The author here mentions about Jihadist and Maoist ideologies, linking them to Pakistan and China respectively. He also quotes about the Kashmir issue and mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits.
In chapter 35, the author mentions the professional petitioners who burn the midnight oil to file mercy petitions to save terrorists obeying the Fatwa of Al- Jihad issued by Caliphates in West Bengal and Bangladesh. Similarly, the chapter series from 40 to 50 discuss largely about the veil behind the proxy war, “Talibanization” of Kashmir, and even “Drone Jihad” with intentions of Pakistan to “Bleed India with thousand cuts”. The author refers to Shaheen Bagh jihadis, who are the newest entrant to the list, as anti-nationals in the garb of intellectuals, activists who peddle their anti-India agenda and have created a huge ecosystem in academia, politics and judiciary.
Yet, despite all these challenges and threats to India’s security, the author is optimistic and envisions the nationalistic view. He strongly affirms that India’s soldiers are guarding India, in and out, and have never let any evil agenda be successful in harming the integrity of the country. Indian Army, Airforce and Navy stand as a strong deterrence to the perpetrators of terror and violence and have effectively eliminated any such evil ordeals. Truth and Bravery are perennial and India shall continue to flourish by defeating the hatred filled agenda.
As a keen student of National Security, I recommend the book “Know the Anti Nationals” to all the fellow students, as well as to academia teaching statecraft, security and threat analysis. This book is replete with examples pertaining to our political landscape since independence, where attempts to harm the national security and integrity of India have been undertaken. This book is a must read for anyone who is trying to understand the dynamics of National Security in purview of political enigmas unfolding in the gambit of misinformation and fake news that can manipulate the psyche of any target audience. As it is said, a good book is the one that teaches you “how to think” and not “What to think”, this book remains a perfect example.
Further recommended readings on this genre include ‘Keeping India Safe: The Dilemma of Internal Security’ (by Vappala Balachandran) and ‘How India manages its national security’ ( by Arvind Gupta)
