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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 NEW DELHI 005047 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/21/2017 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER PINR IR PK AF CH SN KS JP
RS, UG, AS, NZ, IN 
SUBJECT: DELHI DIARY, NOVEMBER 16-21 
 
REF: NEW DELHI 4700 
 
NEW DELHI 00005047  001.2 OF 004 
 
 
Classified By: PolCouns Ted Osius for Reasons 1.4 (B,D) 
 
¶1.  (U) Below is a compilation of political highlights from 
Embassy New Delhi for November 16-21, 2007 that did not 
feature in our other reporting, including: 
 
-- MEA Concerns about Negotiating with the Taliban 
-- PM Singh Uses ASEAN to Urge Burma to Expedite the 
Reconciliation Process 
-- Three Arrested for Scheming to Kidnap Rahul Gandhi and 
Others 
-- Rahul Continues His Ascent 
-- The Other Election: Himachal Pradesh 
-- Prime Minister Singh to Attend the CHOGM Summit in Uganda 
 
MEA Concerns about Negotiating with the Taliban 
------- 
 
¶2.  (C) MEA Joint Secretary (Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran) 
T.C.A. Raghavan told PolCouns November 19 that the situation 
in Afghanistan was getting worse, lamenting that six Members 
of Parliament were killed November 6 north of Kabul.  There 
was nothing wrong with intra- and inter-tribal 
reconciliation, Raghavan opined, but to leap to negotiation 
with the Taliban was a "critical area," he counseled.  "You 
will find you are near your tipping point, like in '93, '94 
and '95," warned Raghavan.  PolCouns assured Raghavan that 
USG and Indian interests converged on a stable Afghanistan. 
President Karzai should rethink his plan to talk to the 
Taliban, Raghavan contended, suggesting that it gave the 
impression that "Karzai is bigger than he is."  Referring to 
Pakistan's South Waziristan agreement with the Nek 
Mohammed-led Pakistani Taliban, Raghavan enounced that 
Pakistan had already tried in 2004 to forge an agreement with 
the Taliban, and that it had not worked (NFI). 
 
¶3.  (C) PolCouns asked Raghavan for information on National 
Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan's under the radar visit to 
Kabul in early October, where he reportedly went to get a 
firsthand appraisal of the Taliban resurgence.  Raghavan 
responded that it had been a "private" trip, and that 
Narayanan was on his own except for a member of the Prime 
Minister's Office (PMO) (Raghavan did not know who). 
Narayanan's counterpart, Zalmay Rassoul, had invited 
Narayanan to visit Afghanistan, and the Indian Ambassador in 
Afghanistan had supported the visit, Raghavan said.  Though 
he clarified that he did not know the details of Narayanan's 
visit, Raghavan speculated that Narayanan had discussed the 
Taliban. 
 
PM Singh Uses ASEAN to Urge Burma to Expedite the 
Reconciliation Process 
------- 
 
¶4.  (C)  Indian media sources report that Prime Minister 
Manmohan Singh met with Burmese junta leader Thein Sein on 
the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit on 20 November and 
emphasized India's position that the reconciliation process 
in Burma needed to be broad-based, include Aung Sang Suu Kyi 
and ethnic minority groups, and be "carried forward 
expeditiously towards a satisfactory conclusion."  Singh 
reiterated India's support for the efforts of UN Special 
Envoy Ibrahim Gambari on behalf of the international 
 
NEW DELHI 00005047  002.2 OF 004 
 
 
community.  Comment:  Although the statement reflected 
nothing new in India's position, it was noteworthy in that it 
was the first the PM has personally urged the Burmese to take 
reconciliation seriously.  End comment. 
 
¶5.  (C) On the margins of ASEAN was the third East Asia 
Summit, which included ASEAN plus South Korea, China, Japan 
and India.  Singaporean First Secretary Edgar Pang speculated 
to PolOff November 19 that Russia would make a strong pitch 
to be included in the East Asia summit, and that India was 
expected to voice support for Russia,s inclusion.  Poloff 
opined that India was probably hoping that Russia would 
counterbalance China at the summit, to India,s favor.  Pang 
expressed skepticism that Russia could bring much to the 
table and questioned the appropriateness of inviting it into 
an Asian-centric conference. 
 
¶6.  (C) Although analysts did not expect much headway on 
India's entry into an ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (FTA), PM 
Singh pushed for India's "10 6" vision of ASEAN (the original 
10 members plus India, China, South Korea, Japan, Australia, 
and New Zealand) against China's suggestion of 10 3 (China, 
South Korea, and Japan).  In addition, embassy sources 
indicated that India was planning to announce new measures 
for increased cooperation with ASEAN in the fields of 
Information and Communication Technology and health, expanded 
people-to-people contacts, and human resource development. 
Renowned journalist C. Raja Mohan reported in the November 20 
issue of "The Indian Express" that India would use the forum 
to reiterate its cultural linkages with Southeast Asia by 
taking a gentler and more nuanced approach than its 
pre-1990's ham-handed assertions that it was the "mother of 
all civilizations in Asia," which didn't play well with the 
rest of Asia.  Instead, India will continue to focus on 
promoting Buddhist cultural links and projecting soft power 
by offering to share the bounty of its emerging strengths in 
the technology and education sectors. 
 
Three Arrested for Scheming to Kidnap Rahul Gandhi and Others 
------- 
 
¶7.  (U) The Special Task Force arrested three men alleged to 
be members of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Lucknow on November 
¶16.   Police claim they were plotting to kidnap VIPs, 
including Rahul Gandhi, in order to pressure the government 
to release 42 jailed terrorists and open talks on 
independence for Kashmir.  The three men reportedly confessed 
to having been trained in Afghanistan and Pakistan.  Their 
plan was to obtain jobs as cleaners in political party 
offices in order to gain access to their targets. 
 
¶8.  (U) Two of the prisoners the three hoped to have released 
were reportedly Afzal Guru and Jusuf Nepali, who were 
convicted for the JeM December 2001 bombing of the Indian 
Parliament building.  Jaish-e-Mohammed was founded by Maulana 
Masood Azhar in 2000, who himself was released from prison in 
1999 in exchange for passengers of a hijacked Indian Airlines 
flight. 
 
Rahul Continues His Ascent 
-------- 
 
¶9.  (U) Rahul Gandhi was the star of the show at the All 
India Congress Committee (AICC) session in Delhi over the 
weekend.  In one of Rahul,s first major outings following 
 
NEW DELHI 00005047  003.2 OF 004 
 
 
his October appointment as AICC General Secretary (reftel), 
and in the absence of any real policies or principles other 
than perpetration of the Nehru Dynasty, the Congress Party 
made a major effort to ensure that the message emanating from 
the convention is clear:  Rahul Gandhi Zindabad! (Long Live 
Rahul Gandhi!). 
 
¶10.  (U) In speech after speech, Congress party elders, 
including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, painted Rahul as the 
ordained leader of the Congress party and expressed 
confidence that he would lead the party and then the nation 
to greatness through his appeal to the youth of India.  Sonia 
Gandhi, too, acknowledged the dynastic inevitability when she 
exhorted the party cadre:  "Neither Rahul nor I have the 
magic wand.  What has to happen has to be with the 
cooperation of all of you." 
 
¶11.  (U) Rahul was eventually coaxed to the microphone by the 
cheering crowd and, alternating between Hindi and English in 
his brief remarks, he highlighted the importance of 
technology and India's youth in bringing about change in the 
nation.  The only other point he made was a call for 
merit-based advancement within the party, adding: "It is our 
duty to ensure that their (i.e., party workers) progress is 
linked to their performance."  While he himself and the 
doting crowd appear to have missed it, the irony of Rahul's 
call for a meritocracy within the party was not lost on 
journalists and political observers. 
 
The Other Election: Himachal Pradesh 
-------- 
 
¶12.  (U) Media attention has focused in recent weeks on the 
Gujarat state assembly elections in mid-December, where the 
Congress Party is trying to unseat the Bharatiya Janata 
Party's (BJP's) Hindutva icon Narendra Modi.  This spotlight 
on Gujarat has overshadowed another state campaign underway, 
in the northern mountain state of Himachal Pradesh.  Three 
remote tribal constituencies in Himachal already went to the 
polls on November 14 because weather conditions make it 
difficult to campaign and conduct elections in December.  The 
remaining 65 seats will be decided on December 19 with all 
results announced on December 28.  Intense electioneering in 
the tribal areas is likely to be revved up further during the 
campaign for the remaining seats. 
 
¶13.  (U) According to analysts, the BJP, riding a wave of 
anti-incumbency, is poised to oust the ruling Congress 
government.  Infighting and charges of corruption are also 
dragging the Congress down.  But it is Uttar Pradesh Chief 
Minister Mayawati,s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) that has 
injected some spark and uncertainty in the polls.  Himachal, 
like Gujarat, has traditionally been a two-party state in 
which the Congress and the BJP generally alternate terms in 
power.  Fresh from her success in the UP elections earlier 
this year, Mayawati has made a concerted effort to build a 
presence in Himachal.  The BSP recruited upper caste 
ex-Congress Minister Vijay Singh Mankotia as its Chief 
Minister candidate and plans to contest all 68 seats in the 
state.  It hopes to put together the same winning Dalit-upper 
caste combination it employed in Uttar Pradesh.  Dalits make 
up approximately 27 percent of the population in Himachal and 
have traditionally voted Congress.  The BSP hopes to cut into 
that vote bank as well as pocket upper caste votes of people 
disenchanted with both the Congress and the BJP.  It is 
 
NEW DELHI 00005047  004.2 OF 004 
 
 
unlikely that the BSP will win many seats outright, but it 
may get enough share of the vote to affect the results in 
many constituencies.  How well the BSP's message travels 
could have implications well beyond the rugged hills of 
Himachal Pradesh. 
 
Prime Minister Singh to Attend the CHOGM Summit in Uganda 
------- 
 
¶14.  (U) Prime Minister Singh will leave for Kampala November 
22 to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) 
summit, returning on November 25. Indian media is abuzz with 
speculation that the leaders of Commonwealth nations will 
suspend Pakistan from CHOGM, in light of the recent 
anti-democratic crackdowns committed by General Musharraf. 
Indian leaders are refusing to be drawn into any controversy 
over Pakistan, keeping in line with their cautious appraisal 
of the unfolding crisis within their northern nemesis.  New 
Delhi is pushing for its candidate, High Commissioner (UK) 
Kamlesh Sharma, to become the new Commonwealth Secretary 
General. 
MULFORD