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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 NEW DELHI 002173 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS, DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PTER PINR KDEM IN
SUBJECT: DELHI DIARY, AUGUST 4-8 
 
REF: A. NEW DELHI 2146 
     ¶B. NEW DELHI 2109 
     ¶C. NEW DELHI 1799 
     ¶D. NEW DELHI 1684 
 
¶1.  Below is a compilation of political highlights from 
Embassy New Delhi from August 4-8, 2008, that did not 
feature in our other reporting, including: 
 
--  All-Party Meeting on Jammu and Kashmir Launches a Process 
--  Supreme Court Extends Ban on Islamic Student Group 
--  Election Dates Discussed 
--  SP Demands Fair Share of Seats 
--  Amarinder to Lead Congress Campaign in Punjab 
--  Delhi University Professor Sacked on Charges of Sexual 
Harassment 
--  Delayed BJP Reaction to Swaraj's Conspiracy Claims 
 
All-Party Meeting on Jammu and Kashmir Launches a Process 
--- 
 
¶2.  (U)  After a nasty confrontation over the July 22 
confidence vote in Parliament, the Congress Party and the 
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) appeared to set aside 
temporarily their bitter combat and agree to a way forward on 
trying to resolve the Jammu and Kashmir uprising over the 
land transfer controversy (reftels).  The BJP did not relent 
on its demands for transfer of land to the Amarnath Shrine 
Board and recall of the state governor, but it did sign on to 
a joint statement released on August 6 after an "all-party" 
meeting of 36 political parties convened by Prime Minister 
Manmohan Singh.  The joint statement noted the deep concern 
of all the participants at the unrest in the state, 
restoration of normalcy at the earliest, urged steps to 
prevent communalization of the controversy and committed to a 
process of dialogue with the protesters.  Simultaneous, the 
all the member of the Amarnath Shrine Board (except the state 
governor and his principal secretary) resigned and a 
four-member committee of state luminaries was constituted to 
begin negotiations with the protesters in the Jammu region. 
 
¶3.  (U)  The Jammu protesters rejected the GOI's call to 
suspend their stir as curfews and intermittent traffic 
disruptions along National Highway 1A continued.  After BJP 
leader L.K. Advani urged the Prime Minister to initiate high 
level talks with the protesters, the GOI agreed to send a 
multiple party delegation headed by Home Minister Shivraj 
Patil to Jammu and Srinagar to hold talks with the 
protesters.  The protest leaders agreed to talk to Patil, 
noting that "there may be forward movement" if the delegation 
presents "concrete proposals."  Advani also spoke to the 
Punjab Chief Minister to request his support in opening up 
the national highway that was being blocked on the Punjab 
side of the Punjab-Jammu border.  The situation in Jammu and 
Kashmir remains tense but the all-party meeting and the 
beginning of a dialogue process offer some hope that the 
situation can be resolved in the coming days and/or weeks. 
 
 
Supreme Court Extends Ban on Islamic Student Group 
--- 
 
¶4.  (U)  The Indian Supreme Court on August 6 reversed the 
August 5 Delhi High Court ruling that lifted the ban on the 
Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), a key Islamic 
organization accused of links to Al Qaida and involvement in 
acts of terrorism throughout India.  There was considerable 
uproar following the August 5 court ruling, with the main 
opposition party the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accusing 
the ruling Congress Party-led United Progressive Alliance 
(UPA) central government of "incompetence."  Terrorism is 
expected to be a major issue during the election campaign, 
due before May 2009. 
 
 
NEW DELHI 00002173  002 OF 004 
 
 
¶5.  (U)  On August 5, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) 
Tribunal of the Delhi High Court had over-turned the ban on 
SIMI after the central government's Union Home Ministry 
failed to provide sufficient evidence linking SIMI to 
terrorist incidents.  This follows a July 28 Tribunal 
directive to the Home Ministry and Intelligence Bureau to 
present convincing evidence to warrant outlawing the 
organization. 
 
¶6.  (U)  SIMI was founded in 1977 and first banned in the 
aftermath of September 11, 2001.  The organization has been 
accused of having close ties to Al Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Taiba, 
the Pakistan-based militant organization.  It has also been 
implicated by Indian authorities in almost every act of 
terror within the country, including the recent wave of 
terrorist activity in the nation's info-technology capital of 
Bangalore and important business centers of Ahmedabad and 
Surat.  However, no specific charges have been proven in 
court against the organization. 
 
Election Dates Discussed 
--- 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  With the confidence vote in Parliament out of the 
way, the Congress Party is beginning to think about elections 
timing.  On August 5, Congress leaders sat down for 
preliminary discussion on possible dates with UPA allies. 
There were several press reports indicating that the 
preferred date has narrowed down to November 2008 or February 
¶2009.  Some in the Congress Party are leaning towards earlier 
polls in the hope that the decisive confidence vote victory 
in Parliament over the U.S.-India Nuclear Initiative is still 
fresh on the public's mind.  These proponents of earlier 
polls also argue that inflation and terrorism, the top two 
election issues, may turn for the worse for the UPA if 
elections are postponed till next year.  Samajwadi Party (SP) 
leader Amar Singh told Charge d'Affaires August 8 that he 
expects the election to be held in February 2009. 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  The Election Commission, meanwhile, called a 
meeting on August 11 to decide Assembly poll schedules for 
Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, 
Chhattisgarh and Mizoram.  Conventional wisdom is that Jammu 
and Kashmir is expected to go to polls in October (if they do 
not get postponed as a result of the current unrest) and the 
other states in mid-November. 
 
SP Demands Fair Share of Seats 
--- 
 
¶9.  (SBU)  The Samajwadi Party (SP), which played a critical 
role preventing the collapse of the UPA government after the 
Left withdrew support, is in negotiations to determine seat 
sharing arrangements with the Congress Party in Uttar 
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttarakhand 
and Bihar in time for the next Lok Sabha elections.  This is 
the most important pound of flesh that the SP will demand. 
SP's Amar Singh confirmed to Charge d'Affaires on August 8 
that it is still not clear whether the SP will ask for 
representation in the cabinet.  One school of thought within 
the SP wants to stay out of the government during its last 
few months so as not be tarred by the anti-incumbency factor 
that will inflict the UPA as it goes to the polls. 
 
Amarinder to Lead Congress Campaign in Punjab 
--- 
 
¶10.  (U)  In another sign that Indian political parties are 
beginning to focus on the national election, due by May 2009, 
the Congress Party on August 6 appointed former Punjab Chief 
Minister Amarinder Singh chairman of the state party unit's 
election campaign.  Amarinder Singh's appointment revives his 
political fortunes after he was sidelined when he led the 
party to a crushing defeat in the February 2007 state 
 
NEW DELHI 00002173  003 OF 004 
 
 
assembly elections.  According to local press, Congress 
leaders in Punjab said that Amarinder's new role will 
invigorate the party for upcoming elections, noting his 
aggressive tactics in confronting the ruling Akali Dal-BJP 
coalition.  Shortly after his appointment, Amarinder vowed to 
win all 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab and to "let myself 
loose" on the Akali Dal in the state. 
 
¶11.  (U)  While Mohinder Singh Kaypee remains the Punjab 
Congress Party "working" president, he is seen as merely a 
token to provide some "schedule caste" (i.e. Dalit) balance 
to the party organization in the state.  Kaypee previously 
served in Amarinder's cabinet and is popularly considered an 
"Amarinder loyalist" who will tow the line.  Amarinder 
Singh's nemesis will continue to be former Chief Minister 
Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, who retains her position as leader of 
the Congress Legislative Party.  Bhattal and Amarinder openly 
fended with each other following Congress' election defeat in 
February.  Amarinder accused Bhattal of being in bed with the 
rival Akali Dal party, while Bhattal accused Amarinder of 
stealing millions of dollars worth of state assets during his 
administration's term from 2002 to 2007. 
 
Delhi University Professor Sacked on Charges of Sexual 
Harassment 
--- 
 
¶12.  (U)  In late July, the University of Delhi's Executive 
Council fired mathematics professor Atul Razdan on charges of 
sexual harassment filed by a first year student.  The 
grievance process lasted over a year from the initial filing 
of the First Information Report (FIR) in March 2007, as the 
mathematics department initially refused to file charges. 
 
¶13.  (U)  The university's reluctance to dismiss professors 
for inappropriate behavior is not a new phenomenon.  In 
March, the Democratic Teachers' Front expressed concern over 
the callous handling of cases related to the sexual 
harassment of female instructors and students at the Delhi 
University campus.  The Students Federation of India (SFI) 
accused the university of "encouraging" sexual harassment by 
failing to investigate and take action against reported 
incidents.  There are several pending cases against 
professors, and while the university has established inquiry 
committees, an overall dragging-of-heels gives little hope 
for progress in the near future. 
 
¶14.  (SBU)  Although punitive action in sexual harassment 
cases is rare, Razdan's dismissal provides hope for pending 
cases and encourages those reluctant to report incidents 
because they view the process as a loss of time, money, and 
reputation in the face of apathetic university 
administrators.  The Indian parliament may soon force 
universities to tackle the problem, as an updated law on 
sexual harassment was proposed in early 2007 and will likely 
be passed in the next session. 
 
Delayed BJP Reaction to Swaraj's Conspiracy Claims 
--- 
 
¶15.  (U)  BJP spokesman Prakash Javedkar on July 31 formally 
disassociated the party from Sushma Swaraj's statements 
alleging the Congress-Party-led United Progressive Alliance 
(UPA) involvement in the Bangalore and Ahmedabad bombings. 
Javedkar told reporters that Swaraj's provocative  statements 
on July 28 were an emotional response after the UPA's victory 
in the trust vote the previous week.  He added, "Swaraj is 
frustrated and a frustrated person can say anything."  During 
a National Democratic Alliance Conference on July 28, one day 
after the Ahmedabad terrorist attack, Swaraj had claimed that 
the bombings were UPA planned and executed to divert public 
attention from the "cash-for-votes" scandal that surfaced 
during the July 22 confidence vote.  The BJP senior 
leadership has kept a studious silence on Swaraj's comments 
 
NEW DELHI 00002173  004 OF 004 
 
 
to avoid creating further discord in the party and to let the 
Swaraj story die down quickly. 
WHITE