DELHI DIARY, OCTOBER 1-8

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 NEW DELHI 002698 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS, DRL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR PTER IN SUBJECT: DELHI DIARY, OCTOBER 1-8 REF: NEW DELHI 2631 ¶1. (U) Below is a compilation of political highlights from Embassy New Delhi for October 1-8, 2008, that did not feature in our other reporting, including: -- Congress Grapples with Jamia Incident -- PM Reiterates Support for Palestine -- Embassy Iftar a Roaring Success -- NSA Chief "Gravely Concerned" about Sri Lankan Tamils -- Jodhpur Stampede Death Toll Rises -- Continuing Debate on Sexual Orientation Rights in India -- BJP and Regional Party Forge Haryana Alliance Congress Grapples with Jamia Incident --- ¶2. (SBU) The Congress Party is scrambling to a find a political response to the September 19 shootout in Delhi's Jamia Nagar neighborhood, in which two suspected Indian Mujahideen members were killed. There has been considerable public debate on the circumstances leading up to the violent police encounter in the predominately Muslim neighborhood. Some United Progressive Alliance (UPA) officials have called for a government probe into the Jamia incident, which many in the Muslim community believe was staged by the GOI to buttress its terror-fighting credentials (ref A). Leaders of the Opposition from the Bharatiya Janata Party, on the other hand, have justified the police response in Jamia as a necessary measure in the war against Islamic extremism. ¶3. (SBU) During a meeting with UPA President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on October 3, senior Congress leader Salman Khursheed criticized the Home Ministry's handling of the encounter and demanded a "fair, balanced response as quickly as possible." On October 4, Samajwati Party (SP) General Secretary Amar Singh called for a government probe and threatened to pull out of the UPA coalition government if the Jamia shootout was "proved to be fake." ¶4. (SBU) Convening a judicial inquiry would help consolidate support for the Congress Party among its Muslim supporters. It would be especially welcomed by Congress's regional allies, particularly the SP which has a large Muslim constituency in Uttar Pradesh. The UPA government has yet to make a final decision, but the Delhi state government took a step to respond to the pressure by sending an investigative team to Jamia and considering the possibility of having the National Human Rights Commission look into the case. PM Reiterates Support for Palestine --- ¶5. (U) In a gesture to reaffirm India's commitment to the Palestinian cause, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on October 7 announced an assistance package of USD 20 million to the Palestinian Nat)onal Authority (PNA) and reiterated the GOI's support for a negotiated solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. The PM addressed a group of Indian and Palestinian government officials at a dedication ceremony for the new Palestinian Embassy in the heart of New Delhi's diplomatic enclave. He called for diplomatic efforts to ensure the Middle East peace process would succeed in securing a "sovereign, independent, viable and united state of Palestine living in a secure border, side-by-side with Israel." Of the new assistance package, USD 10 million would go to the PNA for budgetary support, and USD 10 million would be earmarked for economic development. (Note: PM Singh's address coincided with PNA President Abbas's four-day official visit to India. Post will provide a full readout of visit septel.) ¶6. (SBU) PM Singh's appearance at the dedication ceremony and announcement of a new assistance package underline the NEW DELHI 00002698 002 OF 004 Congress Party's historic support for the Palestinian cause. Such alignment is considered crucial for the party's appeal to its Muslim voter base. In the run up to national elections by May 2009, we can expect the UPA to take other steps to further consolidate support within the strategic Muslim vote bank. Embassy Iftar a Roaring Success --- ¶7. (U) PolCouns hosted over 350 guests at Embassy New Delhi's seventh annual Iftar on September 24. The oversubscribed attendance demonstrates the success the Embassy is having in reaching out to Indian Muslims. Prominent Sunni and Shia Muslims attended the celebration, as well as members of the Hindu, Sikh, Baha'i and Christian communities. Significantly, clerics from the conservative Darul Uloom Deoband madrassa attended the event as did Imam Bukhari, the Barelvi Imam of Delhi's largest mosque, Jama Masjid. Many contacts traveled great distances to New Delhi for the Iftar, which has become a not-to-be-missed annual event for the Indian Muslim community. ¶8. (U) The vernacular press favorably covered the Iftar. Many papers printed a full Urdu translation of PolCouns' speech, which focused on tolerance and social cohesion in the face of terrorism. While all guests deplored the recent bombings in Islamabad and Delhi, many expressed concern that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government has allowed anti-Muslim sentiment to thrive in India. NSA Chief "Gravely Concerned" about Sri Lankan Tamils --- ¶9. (U) Under pressure from Indian Tamil constituents, Indian National Security Advisor Narayanan called on Sri Lankan Deputy High Commissioner Palithaganegoda on October 7 to express "grave concern" for Tamil civilian deaths in Sri Lanka. According to press reports, Narayanan asked the Government of Sri Lanka to act with greater restraint against the rebel group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) noting the "growing casualties of unarmed Tamil civilians as a result of military action." He also appealed for Sri Lanka to revive diplomatic dialogue with the LTTE in order to stem the deteriorating humanitarian situation. ¶10. (U) There has been considerable public debate surrounding the escalation of violence in Northern Sri Lanka. Indian Tamils have taken to the streets in South India calling for UPA intervention. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief M. Karunanidhi demanded that the UPA summon Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to complain about the "genocide" taking place against Tamils in Sri Lanka. ¶11. (SBU) Narayanan's statements criticizing Sri Lankan military operations help to consolidate support among the UPA's Tamil constituents. Tamil Nadu's ruling party and UPA coalition partner the DMK would particularly welcome an aggressive policy stance. We expect the UPA to take further steps to consolidate important vote banks in the run up to hotly contested national elections next year. Jodhpur Stampede Death Toll Rises --- ¶12. (U) A state-ordered probe into the cause of the September 30 Hindu temple stampede in Jodhpur, Rajasthan raised the death toll from 147 to 224 on October 2. The panel, presided over by retired judge Jas Raj Chopra, noted that the earlier death toll did not account for fatalities at local hospitals. The disaster happened just as the doors of the Chamunda Devi Temple were being opened for worship on NEW DELHI 00002698 003 OF 004 September 30 to more than 12,000 people lined up to celebrate the Hindu festival of Navratri. The cause of the stampede is still unknown. According to reports, false rumors of a bomb may have triggered panic among the thousands of pilgrims lining up at the temple entrance. ¶13. (U) More than 360 people have died this year in religious festival stampedes. Last month, more than 140 pilgrims were killed in a stampede at a mountain temple in Himachal Pradesh. Ahead of the busy festival season starting in October, local media and politicians have called for better coordination among religious leaders, pilgrimage organizers and government officials. Religious festivals are a part of the fabric of life in India, and few expect that incidents such as last week's stampede will deter people from attending them. Continuing Debate on Sexual Orientation Rights in India --- ¶14. (U) On September 18, the Delhi High Court began hearing a petition filed by the Naz Foundation, an NGO that works on HIV/AIDS issues, challenging Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. The provision makes sex between same sex partners illegal. The Foundation's attorney argued for making sex between consenting adults of the same sex in private legal, while acts of forced sex and sex with children would remain punishable under Section 377. The previous month at an international conference, GOI Health Minister Anbumani Ramodoss had openly supported legalization of consensual sex between same sex adults. He advised that such legalization was imperative to contain the growing number of HIV/AIDS cases in the country. ¶15. (U) On September 25, Additional Solicitor General P.P. Malhotra, representing the GOI, argued that consensual sex between same sex partners, "is not a universally acceptable behavior and Indian society objects to sex against the order of nature completely." Malhotra told the High Court to disregard Health Minister Ramodoss' views because they did not represent the will of the Parliament and the Indian people. According to Ravi Nair of the South Asia Human Rights Documentation Center, Chief Justice A.P. Shah of the High Court is an independent-minded man who has been listening carefully to the legal arguments. ¶16. (SBU) Despite Minister Ramodoss' statement, the Home Ministry is reticent in this case. This reserve is likely due to the reluctance of the UPA government to give the opposition BJP party another wedge social issue ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad, an organization close to the BJP and devoted to Hindutva and Hindu chuvinism, has filed a petition against revising Section 377 and is likely to portray a High Court verdict in favor of the Naz Foundation as being anti-Hindu. BJP and Regional Party Forge Haryana Alliance --- ¶17. (U) Despite opposition from local party leaders, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided to ally itself with the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) party of former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala in the coming parliamentary polls in Haryana. BJP President Rajnath Singh conveyed the decision to local party leaders who argued for the party contesting the state's 10 parliamentary seats on its own. ¶18. (SBU) The BJP-INLD tie-up promises to be a formidable force in the coming parliamentary elections because it consolidates the rural Jat vote bank of the INLD with the urban middle class support of the BJP. The INLD also brings with it pockets of support in neighboring Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. The INLD decision to go with the BJP sounds the NEW DELHI 00002698 004 OF 004 death-knell for the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA),the third front that the communist parties had tried to forge in 2007 with some regional parties to challenge the Congress Party and the BJP. INLD was a founding member of the UNPA when it was formed. Another founding member, the Samajwadi Party, had left the fold in July 2008 when it decided to side with the UPA over the civil nuclear deal. The BJP-INLD agreement reflects the high level effort that the BJP is devoting to building alliances with smaller players around the country well ahead of the parliamentary elections. Two weeks ago, BJP leader L.K. Advani was in Assam, no doubt trying to strengthen the BJP's ties with the Asom Gana Parishad, another important regional party that battles with the Congress Party in the northeast. WHITE