The CIA has declassified a series of documents relating to CIA’s activities during the 1950s to 70s dealing “extensively with the communist regimes in the former Soviet Union and China, and the American reading of their policies.” The Times of India (link), DNA (link) and IBNLive (link) carried news reports about these documents, emphasizing how Nehru’s naivete and romanticism influenced his foreign policy vis-a-vis Communist China. That’s not the point however.

Yossarin, who has got hold of the documents and reviewed them writes:

…Of particular interest to India is a 3 part series on the border dispute with China but more juicy document is 12 MB dossier on the Indian Communist Party, this should stir up politics in India at a time when the Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi lead Congress has accorded unprecedented leverage to the Communists who are celebrating 30 years of rule in Bengal.

Offstumped has reviewed the documents and was amazed to learn the extent to which the Communists looked for direction from Russia and China, sought support and approval and pretty much sub-ordinated national interest at the altar of a dubious ideology and subservience to the Chinese.

(link)

It confirms the suspicion that Indians always had about the loyalty of Indian communist parties. That India’s communists, like communists elsewhere, are a highly treacherous lot is well known. Please do go through the entire post by Yossarin. It has a detailed review of the documents with emphasis on the murky dealings of the Indian communists during the late 50s and the early 60s.

Now, go and read the news reports on TOI, DNA and IBNLive. How many references do the reports have to the activities of the Indian communists during those times? Not one!

Yossarin lists these on Offstumped. These included plans to setup a secret underground organization within the Indian Army by infiltrating its ranks, radio sets installed in a Chinese newspaper office in Kolkata to receive broadcasts from Peking, Chinese financial assistance to Left factions in Bengal etc. However, the most shocking are these:

letter asking for collaboration in Indian underground organization work aimed at an eventual revolution, because China has a border with India and can provide arms and supplies

Also Jaipal Singh, head of the illegal organization within the Indian Army decided to reactivate his organization in May 1961 following the hard left faction gaining control of the party

There is an entire document (12MB and 185 pages) relating to the Indian communists named “The Indian Communist Party and Sino-Soviet Dispute” (link, PDF document) and somehow, most newspapers have missed it. In fact, there are only FOUR documents that concern India and the document “The Indian Communist Party and Sino-Soviet Dispute” is one of them.

An Indian journalist reading a CIA declassification, looking specifically for documents which concern India, misses one out of four documents. Considering that the same communist parties are sharing power at the Centre (with a role and weight grossly disproportionate to the number of their seats in Parliament), influencing India’s foreign/economic/social policy, this should have been breaking news. But for some reason, it isnt. Himesh Reshammiya being spotted in a burkha is! Some obscure letter written by Mahatma Gandhi 60 years ago is getting all the attention.The question to ask: the silence, is it all deliberate?

Two popular English dailies, The Hindu and The Indian Express have been completely silent on this.

What’s going on here? Why didnt even a single newspaper bother to bring this to light?

The documents relating to Sino-Indian dispute:

1. The Sino-Indian Border Dispute Section 1: 1950-59 (link, PDF)
2. The Sino-Indian Border Dispute Section 2: 1959-61 (link, PDF)
3. The Sino-Indian Border Dispute Section 3: 1961-62 (link, PDF)

All the other documents can be found here: http://www.foia.cia.gov/cpe.asp