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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 NEW DELHI 001277 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM PINR KPRP MCAP MNUC PARM SOCI
TBIO, XD, XE, XF, CH, IN, PK 
SUBJECT: DELHI DIARY, APRIL 28-MAY 09 
 
REF: A. SECSTATE 20964 
     ¶B. NEW DELHI 00731 
 
¶1.  (U) Below is a compilation of political highlights from 
Embassy New Delhi for April 28-May 09, 2008 that did not 
feature in our other reporting, including: 
 
-- India and Pakistan Trade Tit-for-Tat Missile Tests 
-- Lok Sabha Speaker Withdraws Action Taken Against Unruly MPs 
-- Indian Custodial Deaths Increase 60% in 2007-2008 
-- India considers HIV/AIDS Anti-Discriminatory Bill 
-- PM Singh Speaks Out Against Female Feticide 
-- Manual for Training Police on Anti Human Trafficking 
 
India and Pakistan Trade Tit-for-Tat Missile Tests 
------ 
 
¶2.  (SBU) On May 8, India tested its 3000 km-range ballistic 
missile "Agni III", described by official Government of India 
and India media reports as a complete success.  This is the 
third test of the Agni III, following the failed first test 
in July 2006 and the successful April 2007 test.  Indian 
media quoted an Indian government official as claiming that 
the Agni-III's development is now complete and that it is 
ready for induction into India's arsenal, to be deployed in 
2010-2011.  The Defense Research and Development Organization 
(DRDO), the Indian government agency responsible for 
developing the Agni, publicly announced in April its 
intentions to test-launch a so-called "Agni 4" ballistic 
missile with a reported range of 5000  km sometime in early 
2009 (ref B). 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The following day Pakistan test-fired its 350 
km-range "Ra-ad" (Haft 8) air-launched cruise missile, in an 
apparent tit-for-tat display of strength to answer the Agni 
III launch.  The Haft 8 was last test-launched by Pakistan in 
August, 2007. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Comment: This type of tit-for-tat testing between 
Pakistan and India is not unknown, but to follow up as 
quickly as one day afterwards is an unusually quick response 
even in South Asia.  The last reaction nearing this haste was 
in on December 11, 2007, when Pakistan tested its 700 
km-range "Babur" (Haft 7) cruise Missile five days after 
India conducted a live-fire test of its indigenously-designed 
missile-defense missile. End Comment. 
 
Lok Sabha Speaker Withdraws Action Taken Against Unruly MPs 
------ 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Tired of Parliamentary business being disrupted and 
being disregarded himself, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath 
Chatterjee (CPI-M) on May 1 referred 32 cases of disorderly 
conduct against Members of Parliament (MPs) to the Committee 
of Privileges.  In doing so, the Speaker was signaling that 
the time has come for him to take tough action to ensure that 
in the future Parliament functions smoothly and in accordance 
with the rules.  On May 5, however, unable to stand up to the 
political pressure, Chatterjee backed down and withdrew the 
referrals against the unruly MPs, who were all members of the 
opposition and not his Communist Party of India (Marxist) or 
the ruling UPA government. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) During the last Parliamentary session, there were 
dozens of incidents where MPs stormed the house floor, used 
other disruptive tactics or simply stopped productive debate 
and business from taking place.  However, the two incidents 
which prompted Chatterjee to take action occurred on April 
¶24.  The first incident was prompted by Bahujan Samaj Party 
(BSP) Brajesh Pathak, who posed a question to the Minister 
for Chemical and Fertilizers Ram Vilas Paswan and then would 
not afford him the opportunity to respond.  The second 
incident involved 31 members of the National Democratic 
Alliance (NDA) coalition, who staged a protest against the 
 
NEW DELHI 00001277  002 OF 003 
 
 
UPA government on the issue of inflation.  In lieu of 
attending the morning question hour, they formed a human 
chain around the Parliament building.  In the afternoon, the 
NDA MPs trooped into the well, chanting slogans, disrupting 
the business of the house and completely disregarding the 
pleas of Speaker Chatterjee who tried to regain control of 
the floor. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Speaker Chatterjee received harsh criticism for 
being partisan in his referrals and targeting only BSP or NDA 
members.  Before MPs could protest in the House, Chatterjee 
adjourned Parliament until the afternoon and withdrew the 
cases in the interim. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) According to news reports, there has been a sharp 
decline in the amount of business conducted in the Lok Sabha, 
which is directly correlated with the disruptive behavior of 
MPs.  The average number of bills passed each year has gone 
from 68 to 50 between 1992 and 2001.  Last year, Parliament 
worked for the least number of days in the last eight years. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Comment: Parliamentarians in India tend to use the 
floor to stage protest more than actually conduct business 
and the Speaker's job is to maintain the decorum of the 
House. However, Chatterjee stepped on a landmine when he 
decided to take action on this select group of MPs when in 
fact MPs from across the political spectrum take part in the 
ruckus that occurs frequently on the floor.  In the process, 
the national agenda gets short shrift.  End Comment. 
 
Increase in Indian Custodial Deaths Increase 60% in 2007-2008 
------ 
 
¶10.  (U) Custodial deaths in India increased to 188 cases in 
2007-2008 from 118 reported cases in 2006-2007 per Indian 
fiscal year reporting. Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Maharashtra 
registered the highest number of cases. UP reported a 300% 
increase in custodial deaths to 32 cases in 2007-2008 from 11 
in 2006-2007. Maharashtra's numbers also increased from 21 to 
25 in 2006-2007. Taken together, these two states, account 
for 30 percent of all reported custodial deaths in India. 
Gujarat, Assam, and Madhya Pradesh also reported cases of 16, 
14, and 10 respectively. 
 
¶11.  (U) Comment: Several states including Arunachal Pradesh, 
Manipur, Goa, Mizoram, Nagaland, Pondicherry, Andaman and 
Nicobar, Dadar and Nagar Haveli, Lakshadweep and Daman, and 
Diu officially reported no custodial deaths, despite 
allegations and reports to the contrary. Many state police 
forces in India have insufficient training and reportedly 
rely on torture as one of the more expedient and convenient 
way to resolve cases. Further, NGOs and international 
humanitarian organizations tell us that the cultural 
acceptance of torture in prisons coupled with poor prison 
conditions and subsequent custodial deaths call into question 
the credibility of India's criminal justice system.  End 
Comment. 
 
India considers HIV/AIDS Anti-Discriminatory Bill 
------ 
 
¶12.  (U) By law, discriminating against India's 3-6 million 
people living with HIV/AIDS is prohibited.  In reality, 
however, discrimination is omnipresent.  The media is 
beginning to report more stories about HIV positive people 
and their plight, such as a woman who was forced to give 
birth to a child outside of a hospital as the doctors at the 
Meerut Medical College in Uttar Pradesh refused to provide 
care to the patient.  In response to mounting social 
pressure, the Ministry of Health will try to push an HIV/AIDS 
anti-discrimination bill through the next parliamentary 
session.  The bill, drafted by activists, lawyers, NGOs and 
the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO), provides for 
the rights to equality, autonomy, privacy and health, safe 
 
NEW DELHI 00001277  003 OF 003 
 
 
working environment and access to information for all HIV 
positive people. 
 
¶13.  (U) Comment: As India blossoms, the GOI must remember to 
include its most marginalized groups. And, as usual, passing 
a new law is only the beginning.  Implementing the law and 
ensuring its people abide by its spirit could require years, 
if not a generation.  End Comment. 
 
PM Singh Speaks Out Against Female Feticide 
------ 
 
¶14.  (U) Proud father of three daughters, Prime Minister 
Singh publicly weighed in on April 28 against the "inhuman 
and uncivilized practice" of female feticide. Pleading with 
civil society, NGOs and the government, he warned that a 
country like India entering the 21 century could not possibly 
claim to be part of a civilized world if it concurrently 
condoned the practice of discriminating against women. Singh 
noted that even states such as Gujarat and Punjab, with 
growing economic prosperity and access to quality education, 
do not have correlating reductions in female feticide rates. 
Condemning social ills such as child marriage, dowry, and 
female illiteracy, Singh said they make Indian women 
extremely vulnerable and suggested the problem be addressed 
by social awareness at home and strict enforcement of the 
Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostics Techniques Act. He 
also called for the National Literacy Mission to be 
reoriented to improve female literacy and challenge the 
unbalanced sex ratio in India. 
 
¶15.  (U) Comment: While India's appalling rate of female 
feticide is not new news, it is noteworthy that even the PM 
is speaking out on the issue. He is also on the right track 
to suggest that valuing women is directly correlated to 
raising their economic worth in society through education. 
The more social and political might be used to elevate 
awareness of gender discrimination, the greater the 
likelihood that India can eventually close the gap in the 
worrying sex ratio.  End Comment. 
 
Manual for Training Police on Anti Human Trafficking 
------ 
 
¶16.  (U) UNODC released a Manual for training police on Anti 
Human Trafficking (AHT) in late April. This manual is part of 
a series of tools introduced by UNODC in partnership with the 
Indian Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in its ongoing G/TIP 
funded project to strengthen the law enforcement response 
against TIP through training and capacity building. The 
manual, designed to train police to be more sensitive when 
working with TIP victims, especially commercial sex workers, 
will be integral to police training programs and translated 
into regional languages. The well-organized manual 
provides a basic overview of trafficking and related 
concepts; outlines specific police do's and don'ts; describes 
appropriate police conduct, behavior, attitude and 
communication through training workshops; and provides 
train-the-trainers concepts for facilitators. 
 
¶17.  (U) Comment: UNODC, with USG and GOI funding, remains 
our flagship project to combat TIP in India. As a direct 
result of UNODC's work, NGOs tell us that they are beginning 
to see nominal improvements in law enforcement vis--vis TIP 
victims. While there is still a long road ahead, this is 
another step in the right direction. End Comment. 
MULFORD