By. T. Sabaratnam
India’s external intelligence agency Research & Analysis Wing (RAW), which started the process of destabilising Sri Lanka in 1981, is now worried that its opponent, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), is training Tamil and Muslim insurgents to destabilise South India, particularly Tamil Nadu.
The current strengthening of the security of the southern coast, though India claims that it was intended to prevent the Tigers escaping to India, is really targeted to prevent the intrusion of saboteurs. India has tightened the issue of visas to Tamils and Muslims.
RAW has warned the Indian government of the possibility of ISI trained groups from Sri Lanka infiltrating Tamil Nadu or Kerala, to conduct a Mumbai-type operation. India fears that ISI would retaliate for the Lahore attack, for which it blames RAW.
Home Affairs Minister P. Chidambaram recently hinted of ISI trained groups infiltrating Tamil Nadu and indulging subversive and terrorist acts. India suspects ISI of training Tamil and Muslim groups especially from the eastern province. India has, according to Indian High Commission sources, alerted its contingent of RAW operatives in Sri Lanka to be extra vigilant. In recent weeks, India has become very sensitive of its southern coast. Defence ministry studies have shown the coast as being extremely porous. Any terrorist group can easily infiltrate Kerala or Tamil Nadu along with the fishermen. India and Pakistan have their intelligence operatives in Sri Lanka since the early days of Sri Lanka’s independence. In those days, they spied on each other.
India and Pakistan inherited the intelligence network, Intelligence Bureau, known as IB, built and maintained by the British. India and Pakistan posted their IB operatives to their respective High Commissions in Colombo. Information is available of Indian IB personnel working in their High Commission as diplomats since 1953.
Pakistan found that the military intelligence unit (MI) of its IB was not efficient, following the first Indo-Pakistan War of 1947-48  fought over Kashmir, and created the ISI in 1948. It comprised officers of the three armed services- army, air force and the navy.
India continued with the IB till 1968, when ISI assisted the insurgents in India’s North-East and the Sikh Home Rule Movement. Indira Gandhi decided to form a counter organisation to the ISI, and requested Rameshwar Nath Kao, head of the Prime Minister’s Security, to form an intelligence organisation similar to the British Force 136.
RAW was originally created with 250 officers, but currently, it has 8000-10,000 officers on its payroll. RAW replaced the IB in Colombo in 1971, following India’s war with Pakistan, which created Bangladesh. Sri Lanka, to the astonishment of India, permitted Pakistani military planes to refuel in Colombo, while on their way to then Eastern Pakistan.
The presence of RAW operatives was gradually strengthened in Colombo after the 1983 July riots. Then Indian High Commissioner, J.N. Dixit told me, “We don’t consider Sri Lanka a threat to India. But conditions created in Sri Lanka may provide opportunity for outside forces to destabilise India.”
Indira Gandhi saw, in the early 1980s, President J.R. (JR) Jayewardene’s tilt towards the United States, as sufficient threat to India. She made use of the 1983 holocaust, to train Tamil militants, to destabilise Sri Lanka. She instructed the RAW to give arms training to the Tamil boys, to destabilise JR’s government.
RAW’s Chennai chief, Unnikrishnan was asked to inform the Tamil militant groups of the weapons training programme. He asked his contact, C. Chandrtahasan, to pass the information to the militant leaders. He informed the leader of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO), Sri Sabaratnam, and not Prabhakaran, who was then in Jaffna.
Anton Balasingham, then in Chennai, contacted Indira Gandhi and arranged for a meeting between Prabhakaran and RAW. The meeting was held in Pondichcheri,
RAW sent its officer, Chandrasekeran, from Delhi, for the meeting. Balasingham and his wife Adele, went from Chennai.  The meeting took place around midnight at the house where Prabhakaran stayed.
The meeting took place behind closed doors. Prabhakaran, Balasingham and Chandrasekaran were the only participants.  Balasingham has this to say of the meeting in his War and Peace (p.58):
 
That night, at around midnight, Chandrasekaran and his associates visited our residence. A closed-door meeting between Prabhakaran, Chandrasekaran and myself took place. An instant rapport was established between the top RAW official and the Tiger leader. Chandran (he wanted us to call him by his shortened name -- we referred to him as Mr. Moon) offered to train 200 LTTE cadets in two batches of 100 at a time. The first batch would commence training in early November. It would be necessary for the LTTE cadres to travel to Delhi, where they would be met and transported in military trucks to an army complex in Dehra Dun, in the hills of Uttar Pradesh. He requested a complete list of details of LTTE trainees as soon as possible. Prabhakaran inquired of the nature of the military training and the weapons systems to be provided. Chandran explained that highly skilled Indian military officers would provide training in all aspects of modern warfare and in the use of small arms to heavy weapons. The training programme would include map reading, mine laying and the use of explosives and anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons systems.  Chandran made no commitment on the nature of arms assistance that India would provide, but said he would discuss the matter later. At the end of the meeting, Chandran invited the Tiger leader to Dehra Dun, to observe the training of his cadres.
Chandrasekaran presented to Prabhakaran a 7.62 mm German Lugar pistol.
The training given and the arms supplied did not satisfy the militants. It was intended to carry out sabotage activities, not sufficient to fight the army. India trained them to do its subversive work, but the militants had different ideas.
The same conflict of purpose exists even now. India has its own objectives, while the Sri Lankan Tamils have theirs.