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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 001560 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM SCUL KDEM IN
SUBJECT: DELHI DIARY, MAY 30-JUNE 6, 2008 
 
REF: 07 CHENNAI 605 
 
¶1.  (U) Below is a compilation of political highlights from 
Embassy New Delhi for May 30-June 6, 2008 that did not 
feature in our other reporting, including: 
 
-- MEA Chief of Mission Conference 
-- Government Officials Retain Public Information 
-- Karunanidhi Birthday Bash: Bashing the BJP 
-- Pakistani Rockers Charm Kashmiris 
 
MEA Chief of Mission Conference 
------ 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Media sources reported that External Affairs 
Minister Pranab Mukherjee will convene India's first ever 
Chief of Missions Conference August 20-23 with all of India's 
approximately 150 envoys participating.  The conference is 
expected to include a top-to-bottom policy review aimed at 
making Indian foreign policy more "proactive."  Among the 
scenarios to be discussed will be India's prospective waiver 
from the Nuclear Suppliers' Group allowing it to conduct 
nuclear commerce.  In addition, Indian media speculates that 
Mukherjee will begin assessing envoys as the potential 
successor to Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon, whose 
tenure ends in July 2009. 
 
Government Officials Retain Public Information 
------ 
 
¶3.  (U) The media recently criticized the tendency of 
government to hide information from its citizenry by 
deploying the "national interest" argument. The 2005 Right to 
Information (RTI) Act gives the citizens of India access to 
records of the Central and State governments. During 2008, 
Rajasthan, Kerala and several other states have routinely 
invoked section 8 of the RTI act exempting government 
officials from releasing information in which "disclosure 
would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of 
India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic 
interests of the State." Comment: Media criticism of the 
government proclivity to use Section 8 of the RTI may result 
in a healthy debate over transparency in government. 
 
Karunanidhi Birthday Bash: Bashing the BJP 
------ 
 
¶4.  (U) Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK party celebrated Chief 
Minister Karunanidhi's 85th birthday with the over-the-top 
extravagance that is typical of the DMK and opposition 
AIADMK's competing demonstrations of devotion to their 
leaders. The city found itself awash in a sea of Karunanidhi 
posters and DMK flags. One especially memorable poster showed 
the octogenarian Chief Minister smilingly laboring under the 
weight of what appeared to be a 50-pound flower garland. On 
the big day, the Chief Minister shuttled between the Chennai 
residences that house his two wives and the DMK's party 
headquarters, receiving numerous well-wishers from Tamil 
Nadu's elite. Thousands of doting DMK supporters came to 
greet the Chief Minister but they were kept at bay by the 
police. The DMK devotees showered Karunanidhi with an array 
of gifts, ranging from goats painted in the DMK's party 
colors, pigeons, fruit baskets, flowers, and, of course, 
money. 
 
¶5.  (U) Beyond the displays of adulation, the birthday 
celebrations had a serious political side. At the day's major 
public event, Karunanidhi exhorted India's secular parties to 
band together to thwart the "communal forces" of the 
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying that "every citizen of 
the country has the responsibility to see" that BJP does not 
come to power in New Delhi. He was joined on stage by 
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Prakash Karat of 
the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and D. Raja of the 
Communist Party of India. Mukherjee read a letter from 
 
NEW DELHI 00001560  002 OF 002 
 
 
Congress President Sonia Gandhi which said the United 
Progressive Alliance had looked up to Karunanidhi as the 
coalition's "senior most leader for guidance, advice, and 
good governance." Karat praised Karunanidhi for his 
leadership against "the forces in the country that invoke 
religion" for everything. Karunanidhi used the occasion to 
emphasize his disappointment with the religiously motivated 
opposition that has stalled the Sethusamudram shipping canal 
project (Ref A). He hammered home the importance of the 
project using sound bites ("Sethu Ram will be my birthday 
gift") and symbolism (the stage set was designed with a ship 
motif). 
 
¶6.  (U) Comment: With the BJP forming it's first-ever 
government in next door Karnataka, the feisty Karunanidhi 
clearly relished baiting the BJP, which, according to 
conventional wisdom, remains on the margins in Tamil Nadu. 
But, one Delhi analyst assessed that for Karunanidhi to take 
aim so squarely at the BJP may be a signal that he fears BJP 
inroads into Tamil Nadu after its successful assault on 
Karnataka. With the DMK facing anti-incumbency, voter 
resentment over inflation, corruption, and the Karunanidhi 
family's dominance over DMK politics, taking shots at the BJP 
is an easy way to distract attention away the party's 
problems. Karunanidhi did not draw attention, of course, to 
the fact that not long ago his party was part of the BJP-led 
National Democratic Alliance government, and could once again 
be part of such a coalition if the bidding price is right. 
End comment. 
 
Pakistani Rockers Charm Kashmiris 
------ 
 
¶7.  (U) On May 25, Junoon, a popular Pakistani rock band 
performed on the banks of Dal Lake in Srinagar to an 
enthralled audience of about 4,000. The performance was 
organized by the South Asia Foundation (SAF), an NGO 
promoting regional cooperation in South Asia. The event was 
part of the festivities to inaugurate the Institute of 
Kashmir Studies at the University of Kashmir. The concert 
courted some political controversy. Critics such as 
Pakistan-based militant Syed Salahuddin had pressed Pakistan 
not to allow Junoon to perform in Srinagar, arguing that the 
concert would send a signal to the international community 
that "Kashmir was an integral part of India." Despite the 
political overtones, the concert was incident free and the 
young crowd enjoyed the show. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Comment: While not too much should be read into the 
performance, it is a positive sign. Kashmir will remain a 
flashpoint in Indo-Pak relations, but the concert represents 
another small step in a state that is moving steadily towards 
a new normalcy. End Comment. 
MULFORD