John Le Carre must have been a party pooper for sure. His stories were stark and dark. His characters had all the burden of life to bear with. His protagonist Smiley never smiled and his antagonist Karla did not either. In some ways, they were the proverbial twins separated at the clichéd Kumbh Mela. And they did not hold a candle to either Bond or Bourne. But the stories reflected the mundaneness of the spy world. Boring and inexorable with the occasional bouts of excitement. Why am I writing this? Because Sarabjeet Singh is no more. For a person whose freedom was fought for on humanitarian grounds, his death has transformed him into a martyr and a patriot. Which leads me to believe that he was a spy who did what he could for his country. It reminds me of the famous lines from "The Charge of the Light Brigade"
It is not for us to reason why
It is for us to but do and die
From a human psychology stand point, it is quite intriguing to understand the psyche of a spy. The caveat being, I haven't met a real life spy. If I knew he was a spy, then I presume he would not have been a darned good one at that. I did meet somebody who said he ran spies. He was ex-military et al.
So my knowledge is restricted to what I read about them. I understand there are three motivations for a spy.
1. Money (They are mercenaries who prostitute state secrets for lure of the moolah)
2. Blackmail (caught in compromising positions, leverage is bought to bear to do the bidding)
3. Idealist
The third category is intriguing. For somebody to take huge risks in life due to a higher calling requires serious fortitude and conviction. Spies are not covered by the Geneva Convention and as such can be hanged. So in that sense, they are going into the danger zone with eyes wide open with no tempo songs playing in the background. And the reality is , if they are caught they are on their own with the country's establishment disavowing them. Unlike the US, which strongly believes in the dictum "No American left behind", India with its legendary bureaucracy sacrifices these guys to the altar of expediency. The Brandenberg gate has been witness to lots of spy exchanges during the Cold War. In India, the only exchange that happens is that of homilies. Sarabjeet Singh is liberated from the façade he created for the sake of his country. The country should owe him a debt. And the debt is not to be repaid through 21 gun salute orchestrated by cynical politicians with an eye on the near polls. It has to be repaid by the country following the dictum "No Indian left behind". Realpolitik be damned!!! The spies of the third kind do it because somebody has to do it!!! The country should do it because it has to be done!!!
It is not for us to reason why
It is for us to but do and die
From a human psychology stand point, it is quite intriguing to understand the psyche of a spy. The caveat being, I haven't met a real life spy. If I knew he was a spy, then I presume he would not have been a darned good one at that. I did meet somebody who said he ran spies. He was ex-military et al.
So my knowledge is restricted to what I read about them. I understand there are three motivations for a spy.
1. Money (They are mercenaries who prostitute state secrets for lure of the moolah)
2. Blackmail (caught in compromising positions, leverage is bought to bear to do the bidding)
3. Idealist
The third category is intriguing. For somebody to take huge risks in life due to a higher calling requires serious fortitude and conviction. Spies are not covered by the Geneva Convention and as such can be hanged. So in that sense, they are going into the danger zone with eyes wide open with no tempo songs playing in the background. And the reality is , if they are caught they are on their own with the country's establishment disavowing them. Unlike the US, which strongly believes in the dictum "No American left behind", India with its legendary bureaucracy sacrifices these guys to the altar of expediency. The Brandenberg gate has been witness to lots of spy exchanges during the Cold War. In India, the only exchange that happens is that of homilies. Sarabjeet Singh is liberated from the façade he created for the sake of his country. The country should owe him a debt. And the debt is not to be repaid through 21 gun salute orchestrated by cynical politicians with an eye on the near polls. It has to be repaid by the country following the dictum "No Indian left behind". Realpolitik be damned!!! The spies of the third kind do it because somebody has to do it!!! The country should do it because it has to be done!!!
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ReplyDeleteDear Ram,
ReplyDeleteHi! I am an Om Swami devotee and wanted to talk to you on something regarding Swamiji. I have mailed you but its an old email id, so thought will leave a message for you as well. Could you please send me a test mail on navjot@followomswami.com. Thanks,
Navjot.