Former Chief of the Indian foreign intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), Amarjit Singh Dulat, has pointed out several faults in the ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ storyline. He said several scenes from the latest Netflix TV series did not play out in real life.
Dulat, who worked as the former Secretary of R&AW from 1999 to 2000, said no R&AW agent had sent any alert ahead of the Kandahar hijack. “R&AW agent sending an alert that IC 814 might get hijacked is all hogwash. Nothing as such happened.”
The former spymaster’s comments came soon after Over-The-Top (OTT) streaming service Netflix agreed to update the disclaimer of the series and mention the real names of the hijackers due to the row over the names of the terrorists.
The decision came after officials from the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry met Netflix representatives over the alleged misrepresentation of facts in the new series and the meeting lasted for over an hour.
Netflix India Vice-President Monika Shergill said, “For the benefit of audiences unfamiliar with the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814, the opening disclaimer has been updated to include the real and code names of the hijackers. The code names in the series reflect those used during the actual event.”
She added, “India has a rich culture of storytelling — and we are committed to showcasing these stories and their authentic representation.”
The series on IC 814, which was taken to Taliban-ruled Kandahar in 1999 to demand the release of jailed militants in India, has been directed by Anubhav Sinha.
REALITY CHECK
Dulat said the then DGP said Delhi did not want bloodshed in Amritsar. He said he appreciated the pilot for landing the plane safely in Amritsar and did not criticise him. “I gave full marks to the captain for landing the plane in Amritsar irrespective of the pressure he was under,” he said.
He said, “We had no diplomatic relations with Afghanistan. Afghan politician and member of the Taliban, Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil, negotiating with hijackers is not true at all. Former External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh tried calling Muttawakil many times but he did not answer his call.”
“Indian intelligence officials had a tough time in Afghanistan while negotiating with the hijackers. Even the US did not respond to Singh’s calls as they were busy with Christmas celebrations,” he explained.
He said once it was the release of prisoners Masood and Zargar was decided, the then Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah, had opposed it, warning Dulat of the long-term consequences, but eventually agreed to the demands of the Centre.
THE CONTROVERSY
The controversy began on social media on Sunday as many pointed out the non-Muslim names of the hijackers in the show and sought a boycott. However, an earlier Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) note from 2000, which outlined the sequence of events, had conceded that the hijackers had codenamed themselves as Burger, Shankar, Bhola and Doctor.
According to the MEA website, “…to the passengers, these hijackers came to be known respectively as (1) Chief, (2) Doctor, (3) Burger, (4) Bhola and (5) Shankar, the names by which the hijackers invariably addressed one another…”
Analyising R&AW and the Centre’s past decisions, Dulat said, “Our best shot was in Amritsar. The lesson learned is that, if you have a hijacked plane in Indian territory, don’t let it go. However, in principle, we should not negotiate with the terrorists.”
THE 1999 KANDAHAR HIJACKING
On December 24, 1999, the Indian Airlines Flight 814, commonly known as IC 814, en route from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal to Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi was hijacked and flown to several locations before landing in Taliban-controlled Kandahar, Afghanistan.
The motive was to secure the release of Pakistani terrorists held in prison in India – Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, Masood Azhar and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar. The hostage crisis, which lasted for seven days, ended after India agreed to release the three terrorists. The three have since been implicated in other terrorist actions, such as the 2001 Indian Parliament attack, 2002 kidnapping and murder of Daniel Pearl, 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, 2016 Pathankot attack and the 2019 Pulwama attack.
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