Are India’s spy agency and foreign interference becoming brazen under Modi?
- India’s intelligence activities have led to accusations against the Research and Analysis Wing by countries such as the UK, Pakistan and Canada
- New Delhi has a long history of relying on the spy agency to guide its foreign policy decisions, such as the 1971 war in Bangladesh
“In the last decade, Modi and [National Security Advisor] Ajit Doval duo have improved funding and operational scope for the RAW. This has certainly led to an increased role for the agency from the previous UPA [United Progressive Alliance] regime,” said Dheeraj Paramesha, a professor of criminology at Britain’s University of Hull and an expert on the Indian intelligence network.
Paramesha, however, said RAW’s recent foreign activities were not unprecedented as previous Indian governments had prioritised growing the country’s intelligence capabilities.
“Under former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi [in the 1980s], the scale of intelligence operations was similar. So, there is not a radical change in the mandate as such. However, with the growth of Indian foreign policy goals, the targets have certainly expanded.”
Several contentious accusations about RAW’s recent operations in other countries have put the agency in the spotlight.
