‘A life in the shadows’: Memoirs by former R&AW chief AS Dulat released in UT
Former Justice Sodhi vividly described his experience with Dulat and his father and termed his writing "straight forward, frank and easy to read. It's like reading a story book and not a memoir except everything is true".
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During the book launch, Thursday “A life in the shadows”, a memoir by Amarjit Singh Dulat, former head of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India’s external intelligence agency, was released at the Chandigarh Golf Club Thursday. Organised by Harper Collins in collaboration with Novel Bunch, the chief guest of the event was former Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court, SS Sodhi.
The author of two bestselling books, ‘Kashmir: The Vajpayee Years’ (2014) and ‘The Spy Chronicles: R&AW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace’ (2018), Dulat’s views on India, Pakistan and Kashmir are well-known and he was often referred to as ‘Mr Kashmir’. In the memoir, Dulat breaks silence for the first time and says that this is not a traditional, linear narrative, but a selection of stories from across space and time. Still bound by the rules of secrecy of his work, Dulat strives to tell a story of a life insightfully observed.
Dulat was born in Sialkot, Punjab, in December 1940. With India’s Partition, his father Justice Shamsher Singh Dulat relocated his family to Delhi. At 10, Dulat went to Bishop Cotton School, Shimla. Then he studied at the Panjab University where he enjoyed, “Life more than his studies”. He attempted the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) twice and cleared it in the second attempt in 1964, where he qualified for the Indian Police Service (IPS). In 1989-90, Dulat took charge of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) in Kashmir.
And he proudly says, “Kashmir taught me the real game of intelligence. In this game, as I was to discover, there are very few rules and the work is rarely rewarding. And if you don’t learn to play the game fast, there are rarely second chances in a place like Kashmir.”
In 1999, Dulat left the IB and joined the RAW but his association with Kashmir continues to play a pivotal role in his life. Gurbeesh Singh, a close friend of Dulat’s, commented about his ability to read between the lines and how Dulat has lived his life in the shadows.
Former Justice Sodhi vividly described his experience with Dulat and his father and termed his writing “straight forward, frank and easy to read. It’s like reading a story book and not a memoir except everything is true”.
“Believe in something then stick to that belief” is what motivated Dulat to write his memoir. “I’ve broken tradition ever so often that it has become a pattern now. There is no ‘lakshman rekha’ to cross, the line is in the mind. We don’t talk about things that are in the public domain except my love affair which is public now. Everything has changed and still nothing has. I was adamant in writing against Article 370, because it’s like a fig leaf. The people never wanted it. Their biggest fear is the thought of being reduced to minorities and I have always felt that why remove their last bit of dignity.”
On being asked why he relates everything to Kashmir, he replied, “Every time I write a book, it’s never about Kashmir but it becomes about it, as Kashmir is in the blood.” He talks about militancy in Pakistan and that it is a signal for us to wake up and maintain the law and order situation in Kashmir.
While Dulat’s ‘A life in the Shadows’ is a grave comment on the Kashmir issue, it also offers personal life stories. From a Partition-bloodied childhood in Lahore and New Delhi to his early years as a young intelligence officer; from meetings with international spymasters to travels around the world; from his observations on Kashmir — political and personal — post-abrogation of Article 370, to his encounters with world leaders, politicians and celebrities; moving from Bhopal to Nepal and from Kashmir to China, Dulat says he tells the story of his life with remarkable honesty.
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