No Longer in the Shadow

Former R&AW chief A.S. Dulat’s memoirs, A Life in the Shadows, chronicles a life spent in pursuit of conversation

Smruti Deshpande

Amarjeet Singh Dulat, the man whose name is associated with Kashmir even two decades after his retirement, joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Delhi in early January. He specially mentioned that he was invited to participate. He marched because, in his opinion, it was the right thing to do.

Despite his calm demeanour, Dulat was excited to share his experience of the yatra. Calling it an ‘amazing experience’ he said there was no way he would have been able to catch a glimpse of Rahul Gandhi had it not been for an invitation. He is quick to point out that “If Modiji invites me to march with him, maybe I will march with him also. If somebody is doing something that he thinks is for the good of the country—doesn’t matter who—I will go.” His participation in the march came a little after the former spymaster released his memoir—A Life in the Shadows.

As Gandhi’s march was set to enter north India and reach Kashmir after a few days’ break post the Delhi leg of the yatra, Dulat was apprehensive of whether Gandhi would be able to reach Kashmir. But he is pleased that a mainstream politician from Delhi went to Kashmir. “When any political leader from Delhi goes to Kashmir, it gives Kashmiris hope. It also promotes the idea of India,” Dulat says. Every mention of Gandhi is followed by a quick mention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “If Modiji visits Kashmir that’s even better,” he says. Dulat tried hard to not reveal his political leanings. His views may appear obvious, but he doesn’t give it away easily while speaking, as though walking a tightrope.

All through the conversation, Dulat made no secret of his worries for the Kashmir Valley. In his opinion, visits by Indian politicians and bureaucrats to Kashmir are very few. He recalled former BJP minister Yashwant Sinha’s interest in Kashmir. “He is not a non-entity; he was in fact a big leader during Atalji’s time in the NDA government. He has served as our external affairs minister and finance minister,” Dulat mentions. “But” he adds, “when the government did not show any interest, there was little even Sinha could do.”

Owing to his decades’ worth of work in Kashmir, which earned him the tag of ‘Mr Kashmir,’ Dulat is confident that the Kashmir issue can be resolved. A year before Sinha quit the BJP, the former Union minister claimed that India had lost the Kashmir Valley emotionally. Dulat says he has been confronted with this question many times but would like to differ with Sinha. “We will never lose the Valley. The situation in Kashmir will never be irretrievable. But the longer we take to settle it, the more difficult we are making it for ourselves,” said Dulat.

He is of the view that Kashmiris sometimes exaggerate their suffering. In a chapter on Kashmir in his memoir, Dulat writes, “Kashmir has been ruled at various points by the Mughals, Afghans, Sikhs, Dogras and so on. There is, therefore, an exaggerated feeling of oppression. Can you call it victimhood? I certainly would. It is not easy to see instantly, of c