[Reader-list] Does the murder of Jamim Shah in Kathmandu implyanything broader?

[Bibek Paudel]

On Thu, Feb 11, 2010 at 9:45 PM, TaraPrakash <taraprakash at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hello Bibek. Thanks for posting to this list. And yes I am sure your mail is
> well received. And here are my comments, though by no means expert:

Hi, thanks for the reply. Your mail certainly highlights some of the
possible aspects of the mystery. I am also only guessing here, but
here are my opinions:

>
> Thus far we have nothing but the conspiracy theories to go by. It's very
> likely that RAW was involved in this killing. But it is also likely that
> Maoists got him killed. Since this guy was known to be having anti-India
> agenda, the suspicion for his murder will naturally go towards India. Andn
> Maoists can rejuvenate their support by taking usual anti-India stand and
> garner some more support. Again this is just another explanation.
>

Yes, this is possible. I don't know about the history of owning-up by
indian underworld dons. But since someone claiming himself to belong
to chhota-rajan gang has owned up for the killing, wouldn't they
refute the claim if it were false? I don't know about this, because
maybe by account of being an irresponsible gang, they wouldn't be
caring much too.

> We may know the answer in future, or we may not. In the meanwhile, can you
> inform us about Shah's views about Chinese repression in the areas where
> Muslims live in large numbers. China has recently browbeaten some countries
> to hand the dissidents over to them, and many of them have already been
> hanged.

Shah wasn't a very intelligent person, so noone here cared much about
his opinions. He didn't have (or offer) opinions on many things
anyway. He used to say that he doesnt feel like a Muslim, since he
grew up in a very old locality of Kathmandu surrounded all over by
temples, having 99% hindu friends, and getting married to an ethnic
Newar girl (traditionally either hindu or buddhist) from Kathmandu.

>
> It might be China, and since it takes no nonsense, the government will not
> allow any public opinion develop that questions China's motives. You will
> remember that any country that crushed Tibbetans in 2008 as brutally as
> China did, it was Nepal.

Yes, Nepalese authority crushed Tibetan protests in Kathmandu. Most of
it was unnecessary, but for a country like Nepal, I think we need to
look deeper. Nepal faces pressure from both India and China to control
activities against their interests. Sadly, both anti-india and
anti-china elements are active in Nepal, albeit without much public
knowledge. For example, Nepal is a center for all sorts of free-tibet
activists ranging from America to Dharmashala. Some decades ago, an
armed rebellion for Free-Tibet run by the CIA for many years was
unmasked only after a CIA plane landed in a district bordering Tibet.
The rebellion was crushed by Nepal army later.

>
> Some gangs might have got him killed for ransom, and it is not foregn to
> south Asian countries.

This is possible. I hope the police will uncover the mystery. If such
groups are involved, I think they should be uncovered pretty easily as
opposed to the involvement of more powerful forces.

> Thugs like Chota Rajan may as easily play in the hands of RAW for money, as
> they can do for others. How about some other media group?

Not heard of threats to other media groups so far. But an owner of the
newly opened National TV is said to be on the hit-list of Rajan gang
(unconfirmed). However, he is under police custody for charges of
involvement in printing fake Indian currency.

>
> How about ISI getting him murdered to malign and get India demonized? He was
> a rich guy with sympathies towards fundamentalism, so a likely target for
> CIA, Black Waters and Israel.

Again, nothing like this can be denied.

It is (now) rumored that he has 3 passports, which if true, is sign of
something ulterior. He might have criminal links, true. But, nothing
of that kind was known so far. Even charges of being anti-India don't
look very fair to people here because neither his TV nor newspapers
did so in an unfair way. The Indian embassy would repeatedly charge
him of being an ISI agent, and he said that the Indian pressure was a
reason for his TV license getting delayed. His media organization was
on the brink of collapse because of financial difficulties and his
employees say that he was often seen weeping after having a hard time
defending charges of being anti-nationalist. They say that he wasnt
able to pay his employees in time and it looked unnatural for someone
receiving funding as claimed by Indian intelligence sources.

But, here are a few things that are possibly unknown to many in India.
1. Prior to Shah's murder a number of people said to be anti-India
were murdered in some towns bordering India. All of the murders
(including Shah) were done by Indian nationals (which doesnt mean that
they could have been used by less suspected parties, including China,
as you hinted).
2. His TV wasn't the one to start the Hritik Roshan scandal. His TV
wasn't in existence then, it started only a year later. Also, I think
Indian newspapers' view that killing of someone anti India in Nepal is
the right thing is fundamentally wrong. That means anyone anti-Tamil
or anti Sinhala in India also needs to be killed. I think Indian
newspapers' coverage of their neighborhood is very immature and
possibly harmful to India's interest. I have long harbored a suspicion
that they get such stories from Indian foreign ministry of
Intelligence sources themselves. I have stayed in India for about 4
years, and this belief hasnt changed.
3. I have read many times in the recent months about the need to
review RAW's role and existence itself, especially following the
Mumbai blasts. Maybe people inside RAW had to show something to prove
their efficiency and worth.
4. The government of Nepal and its leaders have to share all the blame
though. They have not been serious about any important issues at all,
and have been so inefficient and weak that it is very easy for any
party to play against Nepal's interests. It hasnt been able to control
activities of non-state actors including anti-Indian and anti-chinese
ones. Big failure.

Bibek