There are lot of red faces in the Indian intelligence agencies with the Third Secretary in the US Embassy in India, Rosanne Minchew, reportedly gaining access to the country’s higly sensitive secrets, including nuclear information. Minchew, who was running a ring with “insiders”, has escaped to the US.
Imagine this scandalous news should be making world headlines on America’s Independence Day! And, worse, the news relates to two great democracies who are emerging as great allies after shedding decades of suspicion!!!
Was Ms Rosanne Minchew spying for the Americans, Pakistanis or Al-Quaeda? At least the US Embassy should clarify this!
Seriously speaking, how did this whole spy network operate? Minchew was reportedly associated with the Indo-US Cyber Security Forum, a key initiative between the two countries to fight global terror, says Sudhi Ranjan Sen of India’s leading news channel NDTV.
She used the Forum as a cover. Her contact was SS Paul, the first person to be arrested for passing secrets from the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS). He was a computer systems administrator.
NDTV inquiries reveal that he had access to all computers within the NSCS. Even its chief, the Deputy National Security Advisor’s computer is suspected to have been compromised.
Coming close on the heels of the Rabinder Singh episode where another Indian intelligence officer defected to US after being caught out, this new controversy has rattled the Indian security establishment.
The US embassy, on its part, has refused to comment on the sensitive matter.
Under the heading “The Perils of Cooperating with the US”, B. Raman writes in Rediff.com that Indo-US strategic co-operation in various fields — intelligence, military-to-military, nuclear, space, economic — is the flavour of the decade. It acquired its present flavour under the previous government and it has become stronger and stronger under the present government.
“In our fascination for co-operation with the US, we should not let our guard down and forget the fact that the US has never had any qualms about the penetration of the governments and intelligence, national security, military, nuclear and space establishments of even the closest of its close allies.
“Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi understood our vulnerabilities while dealing with the US. She had set up firewalls to protect ourselves from the possible negative consequences of close relations with the US. These firewalls continued to be in place after her.
“The US and the UK tried again and again when P V Narasimha Rao was the prime minister to have these firewalls removed, but he spurned their pressure.
“Their erosion started under the previous government and seems to have continued under the present government. The case of the systems analyst is a wake-up call to examine the risks of close strategic cooperation with the US and protect ourselves against such risks.”
Nearly four known incidents of CIA’s penetration of India’s intelligence have been reported in the past. “Why is US spying on India” by Amar V. Batra discusses the issue.
Says Batra: “Since 1947, India has had a long history of intelligence co-operation relationship with the intelligence agencies of the US and other Western countries as well as with those of the erstwhile USSR, Russia and other East European countries. Underlying all such relationships is an unwritten gentlemen’s agreement that the agencies would not take advantage of this relationship to penetrate each other.
“Most intelligence agencies of the world try to observe this, but not the CIA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. They are aggressive and do not care for any dos and don’ts in intelligence cooperation relationships. They do not hesitate to clandestinely penetrate their sister agencies with which they have an official relationship if they get an opportunity to do so.”
Hey! This is surely like committing adultery! In India we respect the institution of marriage, you know!!! Now the question is can the allies trust the great paramour, the US of America?
I am eagerly awaiting the day when the first Indian is caught in the USA spying for India!!! And the icing on the cake would be that this news makes headlines on India’s Indpendence Day celebrated on August 15. After all, in the game of adultery it should be tit for tat!
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.