Editorial Board Contents - Bureau of Police Research and ...

Window into the World ofIntelligenceShri M.K. Rathindran, IPS (Retd.)As I proceeded to join IB Headquarters on ahot summer day in May, 1967, the magnificentstructures of North and South Blocks of the CentralSecretariat, silhouetted in the distance seemedparticularly awe-inspiring. Having crossed the NorthBlock, I walked in the direction of the South Block.Behind me the words “Liberty will not descend toa people. People must raise themselves to Liberty.It is a blessing that must be earned before it canbe enjoyed”, stood out from the façade of NorthBlock. Very queer, I thought. Wasn’t liberty one’sbirth right ! Even after 20 years of independence,why should such imperialist slogans be allowed toremain, I thought to myself as I journeyed throughthe labyrinthine corridors of the huge building toreport to the AD/Establishment. Herbert Barker’s“Seat of Government”, described by later daycommunists as the ‘citadel of reaction’, was indeeda very imposing one and housed all the importantministries.Fresh from the spoilt comforts of district life,joining the lB was a harsh revelation. Without thetrappings of any authority or any material help,one felt quite lost in the colourless anonymity ofDelhi life. The lB Training School was situatedin a distant area in Anand Parbat, housed in arather dilapidated building. The training wasprofessional and we familiarized ourselves inthe various nuances of Intelligence Trade Craft,walking through the back alleys of Ajmal KhanRoad on various surveillance exercises. Aftertwo months of training, we were posted atHeadquarters, and I was thrilled to be included ina group headed by Shri R N Kao. The training inhis group was a very elaborate affair and includedtours to 5 states, including the newly emergedNaxalbari. Finally, I was given the charge of adesk and was privileged to share a room withShri M K Narayanan.Analyzing endless reports, culling the essenceand finding trends, was no ordinary task. All thisrequired a great deal of time and we, very soon,got into the habit of sitting late in office. Fridaymeetings were particularly interesting when allofficers got together to review developments ofthe week. Soon after, I was sent for the AdvancedCourse in Mount Abu. I returned in January 1968.The lB, soon after, was bifurcated and moved toNorth Block, while the RAW remained in SouthBlock itself. Here as well, I had the privilege ofsharing a room with Shri Narayanan.Shri B N Mullick had retired in 1964, after aterm of 14 years as DIB and had been replacedby Shri S.P. Verma, an IG from Bihar. Even in1967, the shadow of Mr Mullick still lurked inthe corridors of the lB, where he had stridden likea colossus. Shri M M L Hooja, who presided overthe dissolution of the lB empire in 1968, wasably assisted by his second in command, Shri A KDave. Things were very difficult and the relationswith the new organisation, RAW were strained.Apart from bifurcating some of the border SIBs,reallocating personnel, division of assets etccaused many difficulties. Shri A K Dave was abrilliant and impressive Police officer who hada style of his own. His subordinates disliked himfor his treatment of juniors. In fact, when it wasrumoured that Shri Dave was returning to the lBfrom his tenure as Director, ARC, early in 1968,two conflicting groups of officers sought divineintervention regarding Shri Dave’s posting. Onthe one hand, officers in the ARC who wantedto see him go early, were breaking coconutsat the famous Ganesh Temple in Trivandrum,even while officers of the lB were also offeringcoconuts at the same temple, to ensure that ShriDave did not come back to the lB. Needless tosay, the impassioned pleas of the ARC officerswere more than a match to those of the lB, and104The Indian Police Journal, October - December, 2012, Special Issue