America fears India may face a bioterrorism attack

A US cable dated August 3, 2009, leaked by WikiLeaks late on Thursday night, claims Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi had a candid talk with ambassador Timothy Roemer at a lunch hosted by prime minister Manmohan Singh on July 20, 2009.

The scion of the Gandhi family reportedly told Roemer at the luncheon, where they were sitting next to each other, that there was high risk of a “home-grown” extremist front coming up if terror attacks from Pakistan or Islamist groups in India did not stop.

Roemer wrote the cable after the lunch. He said: “Over the past four years, he [Rahul] was an elusive contact, but he could be interested in reaching out to the United States, given a thoughtful, politically sensitive and strategic approach on our part. We will seek other opportunities to engage with him and with other promising young members of the new generation of parliamentarians.

“Gandhi mentioned that in the recent election 60 members of the new parliament were 45 or younger. In a system long viewed as relatively static, the influx of new faces and the rising profile of young leaders such as Rahul Gandhi provide us an opening to expand constituency in support of strategic partnership with a long-term horizon.”

In another cable sent on June 8, 2006, US feared a possible bioterrorism attack on India.

The cable said: “GOI (Government of India) regards a bioterrorism attack as an event of such low probability that the potential impact does not register high on New Delhi’s agenda. We have no reason to believe terrorist organizations operating in India have access to pathogens at this time; also, bioterrorism is inconsistent with the strategy of most terrorist groups active in India. Furthermore, terrorists’ fear of becoming a victim of such attacks themselves reduces the likelihood of a bioterrorism attack in the near future. However, the possibility of a bioterrorism attack cannot be ruled out.

“Terrorists planning attacks anywhere in the world could use India’s advanced biotechnology industry and large biomedical research community as potential sources of biological agents. Given the strong web of air connections Delhi shares with the rest of the world and the vulnerabilities that might be exploited at airports, a witting or unwitting person could easily take hazardous materials into or out of the country.”

The cable noted that in a meeting with GOI representatives and Indian scientists, two themes emerged regarding the bioterrorism threat - India’s public health and agriculture surveillance systems are sorely lacking and GOI is currently ill-equipped to prepare for or respond to a bioterrorism attack.

“The impact of a biological attack or the accidental release of a disease-causing agent in India could be devastating, given the high population density in Indian cities and the growing mobility of India’s middle class,” it said.