By Sunil Kumar
Quora answer written in 2019
Morarji Desai is one of the most controversial PMs that India ever had and should be subject to more criticism and analysis than his fellow Gujarati who’s currently the Prime Minister. Many accounts of the period by different journalists have established his arrogance, resentment and hatred of Indira Gandhi.
R&AW(Research and Analysis Wing) was one of the successes of the Indira era when it came to national interest, the dismemberment of Pakistan and the creation of Bangladesh. For this we have to thank Indira’s decisive skills and Rameshwar Nath Kao, the first chief of India’s intelligence agency.
In the Emergency, opponents alleged that the RAW had been subverted to suit Indira’s ends and there was a secret torture basement in their office where political opponents were brought routinely.
Heading the first non-Congress government in the Centre, Morarji Desai hated all of Indira’s institutions. A former Congressman himself, Desai was already known as a strict Gandhian, an eccentric fond of drinking his own urine and the firing on Samyukta Maharashtra activists as the governor of then Bombay presidency.
Before the election, Morarji Desai had described the RAW as the praetorian guard of Indira Gandhi and had promised that after coming to power he would wind it up.
He did not only disrupt RAW’s operations, reveal its links to Mossad(Israel’s spy agency) and in an act of remarkable stupidity disclose to Pakistan’s clever dictator Zia Ul Haq that there were Indian spies/assets in Pakistan keeping track of its nuclear ambitions.
Also, the fact that the Indians and Israelis knew about the Pakistani facility in Kahuta. Zia took prompt action and finished off the Indian spy network/assets in place.
Mohanlal Bhaskar’s book ‘An Indian Spy in Pakistan’ also testifies to the PM’s stupidity. You know that any nation is supposed to disavow its spies if they are discovered. The task is more difficult for Indians in Pakistan due to the country’s Islamic hordes rather than for their spies in India- a cosmopolitan country with many languages and religions.
The story is that Desai inadvertently gave in to Zia’s diplomatic kowtowing as Zulfiqar Bhutto was still in jail and he wanted world support. Zia used to call Desai often and take instructions from him on Desai’s famous urine therapy ostensibly to improve his health.
The Jalandhar- born Punjabi general Zia was a shrewd and cunning operator responsible for Pakistan’s Islamization, nuclear power, the country positioning itself as an ally in the CIA support of the mujahideen against the Soviets. He can be considered as the prime motive force behind the monstrous hydra wreaking havoc across the globe – a madarasa-spewed terror network.
Ul Haq wanted to keep Desai in good humour – the other person Zia pleased as part of his diplomatic strategy was the former Vajpayee BJP Union Minister and present day turncoat Shatrughan Sinha. In fact, the egotist malaise that is Sinha is to date quite proud of his closeness to Zia and a few other people in Pakistan.
Desai shunted out R.N Kao, reduced RAW’s budget by 30 percent, did not like his successor Sankaran Nair and in typical moronic Gujarati style, put a Parsi Naushervan Framji Suntook at the helm.
Note that I’m not saying that the navy guy Suntook was not capable, but trust Desai to value regionalism and language over national interest. Suntook, a wise man, planned to use Israeli airpower in collaboration with the foreign minister Moshe Dayan to bomb Kahuta and nip Pakistan’s nuclear ambitions in the bud.
But, Desai as eccentric as our founding father dutifully informed Zia and denied permission to the Israelis even to the extent of refusing refuelling.
To conclude, India has always had to contend with people like Desai apart from a whole host of figures like Sidhu, Digvijay Singh, Shatrughan, Mamata among many others that come to mind. Probably one of the reasons Zia and Pakistan gave him their highest honour- ‘Nishaan-e-Pakistan.’
