WikiLeaks cables: Sanjay Gandhi snubbed by RSS during Emergency

On December 14,1976,at the height of tension between the government and the RSS,a cable sent by the US embassy said that Sanjay Gandhi had offered truce to the RSS. Quoting the British High Commission,the cable said the offer was turned down by the saffron organisation that was banned during the Emergency.

On the question of RSSs effectiveness,the cable noted,We hear from number of sources that many RSS cadres have now enrolled in the Youth Congress. Whether they are there as trojan horses or because that is where the action is remains unclear.

The cable said that the RSS was the most effective organised political cadre force in opposition before the Emergency and have continuing organisations in villages and towns. We have little evidence of what they are doing other than possibly spreading rumours,turning out vernacular newsletters,and possibly being involved in some of the larger agitations against family planning, the cable said.

Indira calls her own shots on all matters

A couple of months after the Emergency was declared,the US embassy,on August 26,1975,cabled an assessment of the advisors around Indira Gandhi. US Ambassador William B Saxbe wrote,an overriding consideration is that the PM,after a lifetime in or near the cockpit of Indian politics,calls her own shots on virtually on all matters.

The cable said Sanjays special position and R K Dhawans role deserve special attention. But added,Her present political advisors,like their predecessors,may eventually fade. It noted that the PM was increasingly turning to conservative chief ministers of Punjab and Haryana,Zail Singh and Bansi Lal,on political topics.

Technocrats T A Pai and C Subramaniam have her ear on economic affairs,intelligence czar R N Kao and paramilitary head Rustoniji on security matters, the cable said.

On Dhawan,the cable said,Dhawans influence stems from his omnipresence around the PM8230; Dhawan controls who Mrs Gandhi meets at her residence,where her important meetings take place.

He has skillfully attached himself to Sanjay and works as a purveyor of his and Mrs Gandhis instructions. His main objective is to preserve his prestige and position as her chief operational staff assistant. He would probably be taking chances if he attempted to widen this trusted middleman role, the cable said.

The embassy noted that since Emergency Mrs Gandhi had entrusted three politicians,S S Ray,D K Barooah and Rajni Patel,assignments and consulted them. Each has been a personal acquaintance for decades8230;, the cable said.

It was observed that though they are all in the inner circle,each is in the revolving door section. Mrs Gandhi has used them for their political advice,ideological balance Barooah and Patel or for fund raising. They can look back to several generations of predecessors like L K Jha,D P Mishra,P N Haksar,D P Dhar,who have come and gone, the cable said.