Research And Analysis Wing
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The Research and Analysis Wing (abbreviated R&AW; hi, ) is the
foreign intelligence agency The Foreign Intelligence Agency ( pl, Agencja Wywiadu (; or ) is a Polish intelligence agency tasked with the gathering of public and secret information abroad for the Republic of Poland. It was created in 2002 from the reform and split of , wh ...
of
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. The agency's primary function is gathering foreign
intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...
,
counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...
,
counter-proliferation Counterproliferation refers to diplomatic, intelligence, and military efforts to combat the proliferation of weapons, including both weapons of mass destruction (WMD), long-range missiles, and certain conventional weapons. Nonproliferation and ar ...
, advising Indian policymakers, and advancing India's foreign strategic interests. It is also involved in the security of India's nuclear programme. During the nine-year tenure of its first Secretary,
Rameshwar Nath Kao Rameshwar Nath Kao (R.N. Kao) (10 May 1918 – 20 January 2002) was an Indian spymaster and the first chief of India's external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) from its founding in 1968 to 1977. Kao was one of India ...
, R&AW quickly came to prominence in the global intelligence community, playing a role in major events such as accession of the state of Sikkim to India. Headquartered in
New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
, R&AW's current chief is
Samant Goel Samant Kumar Goel is an Indian civil servant working as an intelligence officer and is of the IPS cadre. He is the current Chief of the Research and Analysis Wing The Research and Analysis Wing (abbreviated R&AW; hi, ) is the foreign ...
. The head of R&AW is designated as the
Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...
(Research) in the Cabinet Secretariat, and is under the authority of the Prime Minister of India without parliamentary oversight. On an administrative basis, the Director reports to the Cabinet Secretary, who reports to the
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
.


History


Background (1923–69)

Prior to the inception of the Research and Analysis Wing, overseas intelligence collection was primarily the responsibility of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), which was created by the
British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
. In 1933, sensing the political turmoil in the world which eventually led to the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the Intelligence Bureau's responsibilities were increased to include the collection of
intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...
along India's borders. In 1947, after
independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
, Sanjeevi Pillai took over as the first Indian Director of the IB. Having been depleted of trained manpower by the exit of the British after Indian independence, Pillai tried to run the bureau on
MI5 The Security Service, also known as MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), G ...
lines. In 1949, Pillai organised a small foreign intelligence operation, but the Indian debacle in the
Sino-Indian War The Sino-Indian War took place between China and India from October to November 1962, as a major flare-up of the Sino-Indian border dispute. There had been a series of violent border skirmishes between the two countries after the 1959 Tibet ...
of 1962 showed it to be ineffective. Foreign intelligence failure during the 1962 Sino-Indian War led then-Prime Minister
Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...
to order a dedicated foreign intelligence agency to be established. After the Indo-Pakistani war of 1965, the Chief of Army Staff, General
Joyanto Nath Chaudhuri General (India), General Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri (Bengali Language, Bengali: জয়ন্তনাথ চৌধুরী; 10 June 1908 – 6 April 1983) was a General Officer in the Indian Army. He served as the 6th Chief of the Army Staff ( ...
, also called for more intelligence-gathering. Around the end of 1966 the concept of a separate foreign intelligence agency began to take concrete shape.


Formation of R&AW in 1968 to present

The
Indira Gandhi administration __NOTOC__ Indira may refer to: People * Indira (name) Films and books * ''Indira'', an 1873 novella by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee * ''Indira'' (film), directed by Suhasini Manirathnam * ''Indira'' (1989 film), a Hindi film (Hema malini as Indir ...
decided that a full-fledged second security service was needed. R. N. Kao, then a deputy director of the Intelligence Bureau, submitted a blueprint for the new agency. Kao was appointed as the chief of India's first foreign intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing. The R&AW was given the responsibility for strategic external intelligence, human as well as technical, plus concurrent responsibility with the Directorate-General of Military Intelligence for tactical trans-border military intelligence up to a certain depth across the Line of control (LOC) and the
international border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...
. From its inception R&AW has been criticised for being an agency not answerable to the people of India (R&AW reports to Prime Minister only). Fears arose that it could turn into the
KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...
of India. Such fears were kept at bay by the R&AW's able leadership (although detractors of R&AW and especially the
Janata Party The Janata Party ( JP, lit. ''People's Party'') was a political party that was founded as an amalgam of Indian political parties opposed to the Emergency that was imposed between 1975 and 1977 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of the Indian Nati ...
have accused the agency of letting itself be used for terrorising and intimidating opposition during the 1975–1977 Emergency). The main controversy which has plagued R&AW in recent years is over bureaucratisation of the system with allegations about favouritism in promotions, corruption, ego clashes, no financial accountability, inter-departmental rivalry, etc. R&AW also suffers from ethnic imbalances in the officer level. Noted security analyst and former Additional Secretary B. Raman has criticised the agency for its asymmetric growth; "while being strong in its capability for covert action it is weak in its capability for intelligence collection, analysis and assessment. Strong in low and medium-grade intelligence, weak in high-grade intelligence. Strong in
technical intelligence Technical Intelligence (TECHINT) is intelligence about weapons and equipment used by the armed forces of foreign nations. The related term, scientific and technical intelligence, addresses information collected or analyzed about the broad range ...
, weak in
human intelligence Human intelligence is the intellectual capability of humans, which is marked by complex cognitive feats and high levels of motivation and self-awareness. High intelligence is associated with better outcomes in life. Through intelligence, humans ...
. Strong in collation, weak in analysis. Strong in investigation, weak in prevention. Strong in crisis management, weak in crisis prevention." R&AW started as a wing of the main Intelligence Bureau with 250 employees and an annual budget of . In the early seventies, its annual budget had risen to while its personnel numbered several thousand. In 2007, the budget of R&AW is speculated to be as high as 150 million to as low as 100 million.


Additional child agencies

Slowly other child agencies such as the Radio Research Center and the Electronics & Tech. Services were added to R&AW in the 1970s and 1990s. In 1971, Kao had persuaded the Government to set up the
Aviation Research Centre The Aviation Research Centre (ARC) is India's imagery intelligence organisation, a part of the Directorate General of Security, run by the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW). It started functioning in November 1962, in the wake of the Sino-In ...
(ARC). The ARC's job was
aerial reconnaissance Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance for a military or strategic purpose that is conducted using reconnaissance aircraft. The role of reconnaissance can fulfil a variety of requirements including artillery spotting, the collection of ima ...
. It replaced the
Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...
's old reconnaissance aircraft, and by the mid-1970s, R&AW, through the ARC, had high quality aerial pictures of the installations along the
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
and Pakistani borders. In the 1970s, the
Special Frontier Force The Special Frontier Force (SFF) is an Indian special operations unit created on 14 November 1962. It mainly comprised Tibetan refugees living in India. Now it has increased in size and scope of operations. Its primary goal originally was to ...
moved to R&AW's control, working to train Bengali rebels. In 1977, R&AW's operations and staff were dramatically cut under the
premiership of Morarji Desai The premiership of Morarji Desai extended from 24 March 1977 to 15 July 1979. In the 1977 Indian general election Morarji Desai led the Janata Party to victory against the Congress party. Upon taking office, Morarji Desai became the first India ...
, which hurt the organization's capabilities with the shutting of entire sections of R&AW, like its Information Division. These cuts were reduced following Gandhi's return. In 2004 Government of India added yet another signal intelligence agency called the
National Technical Facilities Organisation The National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) is a technical intelligence agency under the National Security Advisor (India), National Security Advisor in the Prime Minister of India, Prime Minister's Office, India. It was set up in 2004. ...
(NTFO), which was later renamed as National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO). While the exact nature of the operations conducted by NTRO is classified, it is believed that it deals with research on
imagery Imagery is visual symbolism, or figurative language that evokes a mental image or other kinds of sense impressions, especially in a literary work, but also in other activities such as psychotherapy. Forms There are five major types of sensory im ...
and communications using various platforms.


Objectives

The present R&AW objectives include: * Monitoring the political, military, economic and scientific developments in countries which have a direct bearing on India's national security and the formulation of its foreign policy. * Moulding international public opinion and influence foreign governments. * Covert Operations to safe guard India's National interests. * Anti-terror operations and neutralising elements posing a threat to India. In the past, following the
Sino-Indian war The Sino-Indian War took place between China and India from October to November 1962, as a major flare-up of the Sino-Indian border dispute. There had been a series of violent border skirmishes between the two countries after the 1959 Tibet ...
of 1962 and due to India's volatile relations with Pakistan, R&AW's objectives had also consisted the following: * To watch the development of international communism and the schism between the two big communist nations, the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
and China. As with other countries, both these powers had direct access to the communist parties in India. * To control and limit the supply of military hardware to Pakistan, from mostly European countries, America and more importantly from China.


Structure and organisation

R&AW has been organised on the lines of the
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
. The head of R&AW is designated
Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...
(R) in the Cabinet Secretariat. Most of the previous chiefs have been experts on either Pakistan or China. They also have the benefit of training in either the USA or the UK, and more recently in
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
. The
Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...
(R), is under the direct command of the Prime Minister, and reports on an administrative basis to the Cabinet Secretary, who reports to the Prime Minister. Moreover, the
National Security Adviser A national security advisor serves as the chief advisor to a national government on matters of security. The advisor is not usually a member of the government's cabinet but is usually a member of various military or security councils. National sec ...
is also regularly briefed by the
Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...
(R). Reporting to the
Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...
(R) are: * An Additional Secretary responsible for the Office of Special Operations and intelligence collected from different countries processed by large number of Joint Secretaries, who are the functional heads of various specified desks with different regional divisions/areas/countries: Area one – Pakistan; Area two – China and Southeast Asia; Area three – the Middle East and Africa; and Area four – other countries. Two Special Joint Secretaries, reporting to the Additional Secretary, head the Electronics and Technical Department which is the nodal agency for
ETS ETS or ets may refer to: Climate change, environment and economy * Emissions trading scheme ** European Union Emission Trading Scheme Organisations * European Thermoelectric Society * Evangelical Theological Society Education * École de techno ...
and the RRC. * The Directorate General of Security has two important sections – the
Aviation Research Centre The Aviation Research Centre (ARC) is India's imagery intelligence organisation, a part of the Directorate General of Security, run by the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW). It started functioning in November 1962, in the wake of the Sino-In ...
is headed by one Special Secretary and the Special Services Bureau controlled by two Special Secretaries. The internal structure of the R&AW is a matter of speculation, but brief overviews of the same are present in the public domain. Attached to the Headquarters of R&AW at
Lodhi Road Lodhi Road (Hindi: लोधी रोड, Urdu: لودھی مارگ) in New Delhi, India, is named after the Lodhi Gardens located on it. Two Mughal mausoleums, Humayun's Tomb and Safdarjung's Tomb, lie at the eastern and western ends of t ...
, New Delhi are different regional headquarters, which have direct links to overseas stations and are headed by a controlling officer who keeps records of different projects assigned to field officers who are posted abroad. Intelligence is usually collected from a variety of sources by field officers and deputy field officers; it is either preprocessed by a senior field officer or by a desk officer. The desk officer then passes the information to the
Joint Secretary Joint Secretary to Government of India (often abbreviated as JS, GoI or Union Joint Secretary or Joint Secretary to Union of India) is a post under the Central Staffing Scheme and the third highest non-political executive rank in Government of I ...
and then on to the Additional Secretary and from there it is disseminated to the concerned end user. R&AW personnel are called "Research Officers" instead of the traditional "agents". There is a sizeable number of female officers in R&AW even at the operational level. In recent years, R&AW has shifted its primary focus from
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
to China and have started operating a separate desk for this purpose. The Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC), under the Cabinet Secretariat, is responsible for coordinating and analysing intelligence activities between R&AW, the Intelligence Bureau and the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA). In practice, however, the effectiveness of the JIC has been varied. With the establishment of the
National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a na ...
in 1999, the role of the JIC has been merged with the NSC. R&AW's legal status is unusual, in that it is not an "Agency", but a "Wing" of the Cabinet Secretariat. Hence, R&AW is not answerable to the
Parliament of India The Parliament of India (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the R ...
on any issue, which keeps it out of reach of the ''
Right to Information Act The Right to Information (RTI) is an act of the Parliament of India which sets out the rules and procedures regarding citizens' right to information. It replaced the former Freedom of Information Act, 2002. Under the provisions of RTI Act, a ...
''.< This exemption was granted through Section 24 read with Schedule II of the act. However, information regarding the allegations of corruption and human rights violations has to be disclosed.


Field formations

R&AW has 10 field formations all over India, known as Special Bureaus. These Bureaus have a area of responsibility targeted towards the countries that share land border with India. They are largely located in major cities near or along the borders:


Recruitment

Initially, R&AW relied primarily on trained
intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...
officers who were recruited directly. These belonged to the external wing of the Intelligence Bureau. Candidates are mostly recruited from the
IPS IPS, ips, or iPS may refer to: Science and technology Biology and medicine * ''Ips'' (genus), a genus of bark beetle * Induced pluripotent stem cell or iPS cells * Intermittent photic stimulation, a neuroimaging technique * Intraparietal sulcus, ...
and few other civil services along with candidates from armed forces of India, the latter being in lesser number though. Later, it began directly recruiting graduates from universities. However owing to allegations of nepotism in appointments, in 1983 R&AW created its own service cadre, the Research and Analysis Service (RAS) to absorb talent from other Group A Civil Services, under the Central Staffing Scheme. Direct recruitment at Class I executive level is from Civil services officers undergoing Foundation course at
Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) is a civil service training institute on public policy and public administration in India. The academy's main purpose is to train civil servants of the IAS cadre and also con ...
. At the end of the course, it conducts a campus interview. Based on a selection of psychological tests and the interview, candidates are inducted for a lien period of one year. During this period, they have an option of rejoining their parent service (if they wish to) after which they can be permanently absorbed into the Research and Analysis Service. Delhi-based security think tank Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses noted in one of its reports that R&AW suffered from the 'tail-end syndrome' where the 'bottom of the entrance lists' of those qualifying the UPSC examinations were offered jobs. Additionally, recruitment is also by lateral deputation from the Officer corps of Armed Forces or Group A Civil Service Officers. The Civil and Defence Service Officers permanently resign their cadre and join the RAS. However, according to recent reports, officers can return to their parent cadre after serving a specific period in the agency if they wish to. Most of the
secretaries A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a wh ...
have been officers from the
IPS IPS, ips, or iPS may refer to: Science and technology Biology and medicine * ''Ips'' (genus), a genus of bark beetle * Induced pluripotent stem cell or iPS cells * Intermittent photic stimulation, a neuroimaging technique * Intraparietal sulcus, ...
and other posts are held by
IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax ...
and IFS officers. R&AW also employs a number of linguists and other experts in various fields. The service conditions of R&AW officers are governed by the Research and Analysis Wing (Recruitment, Cadre and Service) Rules, 1975.


Training

;Basic training Basic training commences with '
pep talk A motivational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. Such speakers may attempt to challenge or transform their audiences. The speech itself is popularly known as a pep talk. Motivational speakers c ...
s' to boost the morale of the new recruit. This is a ten-day phase in which the inductee is familiarised with the real world of intelligence and
espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...
, as opposed to the spies of fiction. Common usages,
tradecraft Tradecraft, within the intelligence community, refers to the techniques, methods and technologies used in modern espionage (spying) and generally, as part of the activity of intelligence assessment. This includes general topics or techniques ( ...
techniques and classification of information are taught. Financial and
economic analysis Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyz ...
,
space technology Space technology is technology for use in outer space, in travel (''astronautics'') or other activities beyond Earth's atmosphere, for purposes such as spaceflight, space exploration, and Earth observation. Space technology includes space vehicles ...
,
information security Information security, sometimes shortened to InfoSec, is the practice of protecting information by mitigating information risks. It is part of information risk management. It typically involves preventing or reducing the probability of unauthorize ...
,
energy security Energy security is the association between national security and the availability of natural resources for energy consumption. Access to (relatively) cheap energy has become essential to the functioning of modern economies. However, the uneven ...
and
scientific knowledge Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
is imbibed to the trainees. The recruit is made to specialise in a foreign language and introduced to Geostrategic analysis. Case studies of other agencies like
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
,
KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...
, ISI, Mossad and
MI6 The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...
are presented for study. The inductee is also taught that intelligence organisations do not identify who is friend and who is foe, the country's
foreign policy A State (polity), state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterall ...
does. Basic classroom training in tactics and language are imparted to R&AW officers at the residential Training and Language Institute in
Gurgaon Gurgaon (pronunciation: ʊɽɡãːw, officially named Gurugram (pronunciation: ʊɾʊɡɾaːm, is a city located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest of the nationa ...
. A multi-disciplinary school of economic intelligence is also being set up in Mumbai to train intelligence officers in investigating economic crimes like money laundering for terror purposes etc. ;Advanced training After completing 'Basic Training' the recruit is now attached to a Field Intelligence Bureau (FIB). Their training here lasts for 1–2 years. They are given firsthand experience of what it was to be out in the figurative cold, conducting
clandestine operation A clandestine operation is an intelligence or military operation carried out in such a way that the operation goes unnoticed by the general population or specific enemy forces. Until the 1970s, clandestine operations were primarily political in ...
s. During night exercises under realistic conditions, they are taught
infiltration Infiltration may refer to: Science, medicine, and engineering *Infiltration (hydrology), downward movement of water into soil *Infiltration (HVAC), a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning term for air leakage into buildings *Infiltration (me ...
and
exfil In military tactics, extraction (also exfiltration or exfil) is the process of removing personnel when it is considered imperative that they be immediately relocated out of a hostile environment and taken to an area either occupied or controlle ...
tration. They are also instructed to avoid capture and if caught, how to face interrogation. They will learn the art of reconnoitre, making contacts, and, the numerous skills of operating an intelligence mission. At the end of the
field training A field training exercise, generally shortened to the acronym "FTX", is a coordinated training exercise conducted by military units for training purposes. These are often military simulations conducted in open areas instead of training faciliti ...
, the new recruit is brought back to the school for final polishing. Before their deployment in the field, they will be given exhaustive training in the art of
self-defence Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in ...
mainly
Krav Maga Krav Maga ( ; , ; ) is an Israeli martial art. Developed for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), it is derived from a combination of techniques used in aikido, judo, karate, boxing, and wrestling. It is known for its focus on real-world situation ...
, and the use of technical espionage devices. They are also drilled in various administrative disciplines so that they could take their place in the foreign missions without arousing suspicion. They are now ready to operate under the cover of an Embassy to gather information, set up their own network of informers,
moles Moles can refer to: * Moles de Xert, a mountain range in the Baix Maestrat comarca, Valencian Community, Spain * The Moles (Australian band) *The Moles, alter ego of Scottish band Simon Dupree and the Big Sound People *Abraham Moles, French engin ...
or operatives as the task may require. Field and arms training is provided in the
Indian Military Academy The Indian Military Academy (IMA) is one of the oldest military academies in India, and trains officers for the Indian Army. Located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, it was established in 1932 following a recommendation by a military committee set up ...
Headquarters at
Dehradun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative As ...
. The training model has been criticised as being 'archaic and too police-centric' and not incorporating 'modern technological advances in methods of communication' etc.


Shortage of staff

R&AW has a severe shortage of employees. The number of personnel in 2013 was estimated to be 5,000 personnel. This represents a staff deficit of 40% below sanctioned strength. In 2013, the Hindu reported the organization was short on management level staff by 130 and in specialized areas like technology there was also a huge shortage. In number of
cryptanalysts Cryptanalysis (from the Greek ''kryptós'', "hidden", and ''analýein'', "to analyze") refers to the process of analyzing information systems in order to understand hidden aspects of the systems. Cryptanalysis is used to breach cryptographic s ...
, it was short by approximately 33%. V. Balachandran.”


Functions and methods

The primary mission of R&AW includes intelligence collection via
HUMINT Human intelligence (abbreviated HUMINT and pronounced as ''hyoo-mint'') is intelligence gathered by means of interpersonal contact, as opposed to the more technical intelligence gathering disciplines such as signals intelligence (SIGINT), imager ...
,
psychological warfare Psychological warfare (PSYWAR), or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations (PsyOp), have been known by many other names or terms, including Military Information Support Operations (MISO), Psy Ops, political warfare, "Hearts and Mi ...
, subversion,
sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...
. R&AW maintains active liaison with other agencies and services in various countries. Those agencies include SVR of Russia, Afghanistan's
NDS NDS may stand for: * Low German ( nl, Nedersaksisch, links=no, german: Niederdeutsche Sprache, links=no, ISO 639-2 language code: nds), a West Germanic language native to Northern Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands * Lower Saxony (german: Niedersa ...
, Israel's Mossad, Germany's BND, the
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
and
MI6 The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...
have been well-known, a common interest being Pakistan's nuclear programme.


Stations abroad

R&AW has been active in obtaining information and operating through third countries. R&AW offices abroad have limited strength and are largely geared to the collection of
military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
,
economic An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...
,
scientific Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
, and political intelligence. R&AW monitors the activities of certain organisations abroad only insofar as they relate to their involvement with narco terrorist elements and smuggling arms, ammunition, explosives, etc. into India. It does not monitor the activities of criminal elements abroad, which are mainly confined to normal smuggling without any links to terrorist elements. R&AW officers are posted to Indian diplomatic missions under official cover as diplomats, frequently in the consular wing. The relationship between R&AW and the Ministry of External Affairs has been unstable because they "inhabit different worlds" according to the Times of India. A task force report prepared by a New Delhi-based security think tank highlighted that R&AW operatives have inadequate non-official cover for overseas operations which 'limits access to spot real targets' and causes issues on handling 'high-value assets'.


Operations and activities

The known activities and operations of R&AW, by country:


Africa


South Africa and Namibia

R&AW trained the intelligence officers of many independent African countries and assisted the anti-apartheid struggles in South Africa and
Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
. Retired R&AW officers were deputed to work in training institutes of intelligence agencies of some African states.


Senegal

R&AW was one of the primary agency that provided the information about Ravi Pujari, being located in Senegal. This information was then provided to Senegalese authorities, that arrested and deported him to India. He was formally arrested at Kempegowda International Airport by
Karnataka Police The Karnataka State Police Department is the law enforcement agency for the Indian state of Karnataka. The department is headed by the Director General and Inspector General of Police. Organization The District Police administration is headed ...
.


Asia


Afghanistan

During the
Soviet War in Afghanistan The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, R&AW had recruited three powerful warlords, including Ahmad Shah Massoud. In 1996, R&AW had built a 25-bed military hospital at the
Farkhor Air Base Farkhor Air Base is a military air base located near the town of Farkhor in Tajikistan, southeast of the capital Dushanbe. It is operated by the Indian Air Force in collaboration with the Tajik Air Force. Farkhor is India's first military ba ...
. This airbase was used by the
Aviation Research Centre The Aviation Research Centre (ARC) is India's imagery intelligence organisation, a part of the Directorate General of Security, run by the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW). It started functioning in November 1962, in the wake of the Sino-In ...
, the reconnaissance arm of R&AW, to repair and operate the Northern Alliance's aerial support. This relationship was further cemented in the 2001 Afghan war. After the
September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...
, R&AW provided the intelligence to western countries that there were over 120 training camps operating in Afghanistan and
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
, run by a variety of militant groups. After the Overthrow of Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001, R&AW was the first intelligence agency to determine the extent of the Kunduz airlift. In 2017, R&AW undertook
counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...
operation, described as “unprecedented in its scale and scope”, foiled a major terrorist attack by an Islamic State - Khorasan
suicide bomber A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout histor ...
in New Delhi. The
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
was also involved in this Operation. The militant was later transferred to a US base in Afghanistan for further questioning. The operation spanned 3 countries and involved 80 Research officers. In November–December 2019, a special exfiltration operation was undertaken by R&AW. At least four Indian nationals working in various parts of Afghanistan, that had been abducted by the
Haqqani network The Haqqani network is an Afghan Islamist group, built around the family of the same name, that has used asymmetric warfare in Afghanistan to fight against Soviet forces in the 1980s, and US-led NATO forces and the Islamic Republic of Afghanist ...
, were successfully rescued. In 2020, 10 MSS Operatives from Xinjiang State Security Department (XSSD) were arrested in 
Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
 by 
NDS NDS may stand for: * Low German ( nl, Nedersaksisch, links=no, german: Niederdeutsche Sprache, links=no, ISO 639-2 language code: nds), a West Germanic language native to Northern Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands * Lower Saxony (german: Niedersa ...
. During Questioning, one of operative told the interrogators that they were gathering information about al-Qaeda, Taliban and 
Turkistan Islamic Party The Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) or the Turkistan Islamic Movement (TIM), formerly known as the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and other names, is a Uyghur Islamic extremist organization founded in Western China. Its stated goals ar ...
 in Kunar and
Badakhshan province Badakhshan Province (Persian/ Uzbek: , ''Badaxšān'') is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Tajikistan's Gorno-Badakhshan in the north and the Pakistani regions of Lower ...
s, and wanted to assassinate high-level members of
TIP Tip commonly refers to: * Tip (gambling) * Tip (gratuity) * Tip (law enforcement) * another term for Advice (opinion), Advice Tip or TIP may also refer to: Science and technology * Tank phone, a device allowing infantry to communicate with the oc ...
. This
counter-intelligence Counterintelligence is an activity aimed at protecting an agency's intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering information and conducting activities to prevent espionage, sabotage, assassinations or ot ...
operation was undertaken based on a Tip-off by R&AW.


Bangladesh

In the early 1970s, the
army of Pakistan The Pakistan Army (, ) is the land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the Partition of British India, which occurred as a result ...
launched military crackdown in response to the Bangladesh independence movement. Nearly 10 million refugees fled to India. R&AW was instrumental in the formation of the Bangladeshi guerrilla organisation
Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini ( bn, মুক্তিবাহিনী, translates as 'freedom fighters', or liberation army), also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was the guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military, paramilitary ...
and responsible for supplying information, providing training and heavy ammunition to this organisation. It is also alleged that R&AW planned and executed the 1971 Indian Airlines hijacking as a
false flag A false flag operation is an act committed with the intent of disguising the actual source of responsibility and pinning blame on another party. The term "false flag" originated in the 16th century as an expression meaning an intentional misr ...
operation to ban overflight by Pakistani aircraft and disrupt Pakistani troop movement in
East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...
.
Special Frontier Force The Special Frontier Force (SFF) is an Indian special operations unit created on 14 November 1962. It mainly comprised Tibetan refugees living in India. Now it has increased in size and scope of operations. Its primary goal originally was to ...
, then under R&AW actively participated in military operations especially in the
Chittagong Hill Tracts The Chittagong Hill Tracts ( bn, পার্বত্য চট্টগ্রাম, Parbotto Chottogram), often shortened to simply the Hill Tracts and abbreviated to CHT, are group of districts within the Chittagong Division in southeast ...
. After the war ended in the successful creation of Bangladesh. However, four years later
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ( bn, শেখ মুজিবুর রহমান; 17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), often shortened as Sheikh Mujib or Mujib and widely known as Bangabandhu (meaning ''Friend of Bengal''), was a Bengalis, Beng ...
was assassinated on 15 August 1975 at his residence. R&AW operatives claimed that they had advance information about Mujibur Rahman's assassination but Sheikh Mujib tragically ignored inputs. He was killed along with much of his family. Later, R&AW successfully thwarted plans of assassinating
Sheikh Hasina Wazed Sheikh Hasina Wazed ('' née'' Sheikh Hasina ; ; bn, শেখ হাসিনা ওয়াজেদ, Shēkh Hasinā, , born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh since January ...
, daughter of Mujibur Rahman, by
Islamist extremists Islamic extremism, Islamist extremism, or radical Islam, is used in reference to Extremism, extremist beliefs and behaviors which are associated with the Islam, Islamic religion. These are controversial terms with varying definitions, ranging ...
. In 1990, R&AW had helped engineer and support a democratic uprising against Mohammed Ershad, thus leading to his resignation. His Pro-Pakistan and
Anti-Hindu Anti-Hindu sentiment, also known as Hinduphobia, is a negative perception, sentiment or actions against the practitioners of Hinduism. Examples of anti-Hindu sentiments According to the religious dialogue activist P. N. Benjamin, som ...
policy decisions had been considered a threat by Indian government. In 1991, after
Khaleda Zia Khaleda Zia (; born Khaleda Khanam Putul in 1945) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh from March 1991 to March 1996, and again from June 2001 to October 2006. She was the first female prime minister of Ba ...
had won election, India was alarmed over increased harassment of pro-India politicians, large-scale radicalisation and meticulously planned infiltration of trained extremists into Indian territory by Jamaat-e-Islami. JeI had setup several terror training camps located along the border. So in order to stop all this activity, R&AW spontaneously bombed several of its camps and a major ISI safe house, thus dismantling JeI's terror network. In 1977–97, India took active part in
Chittagong Hill Tracts conflict The Chittagong Hill Tracts conflict was a political and armed conflict between the government of Bangladesh and the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (United People's Party of the Chittagong Hill Tracts) and its armed wing, the Shanti Bah ...
. R&AW trained and financed the rebels of
Shanti Bahini The Shanti Bahini ( bn, শান্তি বাহিনী; meaning "Peace Force") was the armed wing of the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (United People's Party of the Chittagong Hill Tracts) in Bangladesh. It is considered an insu ...
.


China

After China tested its first nuclear weapons on 16 October 1964, at Lop Nur,
Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
. India and the USA shared a common fear about the nuclear capabilities of China. Owing to the extreme remoteness of Chinese testing grounds, strict secrecy surrounding the Chinese nuclear programme, and the extreme difficulty that an Indian or American would have passing themselves off as Chinese, it was almost impossible to carry out any
HUMINT Human intelligence (abbreviated HUMINT and pronounced as ''hyoo-mint'') is intelligence gathered by means of interpersonal contact, as opposed to the more technical intelligence gathering disciplines such as signals intelligence (SIGINT), imager ...
operation. So, the
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
in the late 1960s decided to launch an
ELINT Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ( ...
operation along with R&AW and ARC to track China's nuclear tests and monitor its missile launches. The operation, in the garb of a mountaineering expedition to
Nanda Devi Nanda Devi is the second-highest mountain in India, after Kangchenjunga, and the highest located entirely within the country (Kangchenjunga is on the border of India and Nepal). It is the 23rd-highest peak in the world. Nanda Devi was consi ...
involved Indian climber M S Kohli who along with operatives of
Special Frontier Force The Special Frontier Force (SFF) is an Indian special operations unit created on 14 November 1962. It mainly comprised Tibetan refugees living in India. Now it has increased in size and scope of operations. Its primary goal originally was to ...
and the
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
– most notably Jim Rhyne, a veteran
STOL A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a conventional fixed-wing aircraft that has short runway requirements for takeoff and landing. Many STOL-designed aircraft also feature various arrangements for use on airstrips with harsh conditio ...
pilot – was to place a permanent
ELINT Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ( ...
device, a transceiver powered by a plutonium battery, that could detect and report data on future nuclear tests carried out by China. The monitoring device was near successfully implanted on
Nanda Devi Nanda Devi is the second-highest mountain in India, after Kangchenjunga, and the highest located entirely within the country (Kangchenjunga is on the border of India and Nepal). It is the 23rd-highest peak in the world. Nanda Devi was consi ...
, when an
avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and earth ...
forced a hasty withdrawal. Later, a subsequent mountain operation to retrieve or replant the device was aborted when it was found that the device was lost. Recent reports indicate that radiation traces from this device have been discovered in sediment below the mountain. However, the actual data is not found In February 2020,
Indian Customs Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...
officials detained a Chinese ship from Shanghai Port, at
Kandla Port Kandla, now officially Deendayal Port Authority, is a seaport and town in Kutch district of Gujarat state in Western India, near the city of Gandhidham. Located on the Gulf of Kutch, it is one of India's major ports on the west coast. It is a ...
. The ship was bound for Port Qasim in
Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
. It was seized for wrongly declaring an autoclave, which can be used in the launch process of
ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within the ...
s, as an industrial dryer. This seizure was done on an intelligence tip-off by R&AW.


Fiji

In
Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
, where local Indians were being persecuted by
Sitiveni Rabuka Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka, (; born 13 September 1948) is a Fijian politician who has served as Prime Minister of Fiji since 24 December 2022. He was the instigator of two military coups in 1987. He was democratically elected as Prime Minist ...
, R&AW launched an operation involving informants in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
,
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
and UK to successfully oust him from power.


Iran

In August 1991, R&AW undertook a physical surveillance and tracking operation of Indian nationals from Jammu and Kashmir that were taking weapons training in Qom.


Malaysia

Since 2014, R&AW has undertaken numerous identification, physical surveillance and tracking operations, in Malaysia, targeted towards
Khalistani The Khalistan movement is a Sikh separatist movement seeking to create a homeland for Sikhs by establishing a sovereign state, called Khālistān (' Land of the Khalsa'), in the Punjab region. The proposed state would consist of land that cur ...
organizations. It is only of because such operations that many high-ranking Khalistani militants like Harminder Singh Mintoo, Tara Singh, Kulbir Kaur, Ramandeep Singh etc. have been arrested and deported to India. In 2020, R&AW had foiled a terrorist plot by a
Rohingya The Rohingya people () are a stateless Indo-Aryan ethnic group who predominantly follow Islam and reside in Rakhine State, Myanmar (previously known as Burma). Before the Rohingya genocide in 2017, when over 740,000 fled to Bangladesh, an ...
cell based in Malaysia.


Maldives

In November 1988, the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), composed of about 200
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...
secessionist rebels under abdullah luthufi, invaded
Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...
. At the request of the president of Maldives, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the
Indian Armed Forces The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Armed Forces are supported by ...
, with assistance from R&AW, launched a military campaign to throw the mercenaries out of Maldives. On the night of 3 November 1988, the
Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...
airlifted the 6th parachute battalion of the Parachute Regiment from
Agra Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is ...
and flew them over 2,000 km to
Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...
. The Indian paratroopers landed at the airstrip of Hulhule island and restored the Government rule at
Malé Malé (, ; dv, މާލެ) is the capital and most populous city of the Maldives. With a population of 252,768 and an area of , it is also one of the most densely populated cities in the world. The city is geographically located at the southern ...
within a day. The operation, labelled Operation Cactus, also involved the
Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...
. Swift operation by the military and precise intelligence by R&AW quelled the
insurgency An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irr ...
. In 2018–19, R&AW undertook many operations that crippled ISI and MSS intelligence network in Maldives.


Mauritius

In February 1983,
Mauritian Mauritians (singular Mauritian; french: Mauricien; Creole: ''Morisien'') are nationals or natives of the Republic of Mauritius and their descendants. Mauritius is a multi-ethnic society, with notable groups of people of South Asian (notably ...
Prime Minister
Anerood Jugnauth Sir Anerood Jugnauth, GCSK, PV, (29 March 1930 – 3 June 2021) was a Mauritian politician and barrister who served both as President and Prime Minister of Mauritius. He was Member of Parliament for Piton & Riviere Du Rempart. A central fi ...
requested assistance from Mrs Indira Gandhi in the event of a coup by rival politician
Paul Bérenger Paul Raymond Bérenger GCSK, MP (born 26 March 1945) is a Mauritian politician who was Prime Minister of Mauritius from 2003 to 2005. He has been Leader of the Opposition on several occasions – from 1983 to 1987, 1997 to 2000, 2005 to 20 ...
. In March 1983, Gandhi ordered the Indian Army and Navy to prepare for a military intervention against a possible coup against the Jugnauth government. But the military intervention was put off by Mrs. Gandhi, after a squabble between the Indian Navy and Army, on who would lead the operation. Instead, she chose to task the Research and Analysis Wing's then chief, Nowsher F. Suntook, with supervising a largely intelligence-led operation to reunite the Indian community of
Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...
whose fracturing along ideological and communal lines had allowed Mr. Berenger to mount a political challenge.


Myanmar

During the 1990s, R&AW cultivated Burmese rebel groups and pro-democracy coalitions, especially the
Kachin Independence Army The Kachin Independence Army (KIA; Kachin: ''ShangLawt Hpyen''; my, ကချင်လွတ်လပ်ရေးတပ်မတော်) is a non-state armed group and the military wing of the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), a pol ...
(KIA). India allowed the KIA to carry a limited trade in
jade Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group of ...
and precious stones using Indian territory and even supplied them weapons. It is further alleged that KIA chief
Maran Brang Seng Maran Brang Seng, (16 June 1931 – 8 August 1994) was a Kachin politician and Chairman of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO). Mr Maran Brang Seng Born in 1930 in Hpakan, Kachin State, Myanmar (Burma); educated in Kachin Baptist School, M ...
met the Secretary(R) in Delhi twice. However, when the KIA became the main source of training and weapons for militant groups in Northeast India, R&AW initiated an operation, code named ''Operation Leech'', to assassinate the leaders of the Burmese rebels as an example to other groups. in 1998, six top rebel leaders, including military wing chief of National Unity Party of Arakans (NUPA), Khaing Raza, were shot dead and 34 Arakanese guerrillas were arrested and charged with gunrunning. In 1995, in
Mizoram Mizoram () is a state in Northeast India, with Aizawl as its seat of government and capital city. The name of the state is derived from "Mizo people, Mizo", the endonym, self-described name of the native inhabitants, and "Ram", which in the Mizo ...
along the India–Myanmar border, the 57th Mountain Division of the
Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
carried out the
Operation Golden Bird Operation Golden Bird was an Indian-Myanmar military operation conducted by the Indian Army in April–May 1995. The operation was initiated by the 57th Mountain Division of the Indian Army, which tracked down and decapitated a rebel column ...
. The operation was launched because R&AW had provided information that a huge consignment of arms for northern eastern had reached to
Cox's Bazar Cox's Bazar (; bn, কক্সবাজার, Kôksbajar; ) is a city, fishing port, tourism centre, and district headquarters in Southeastern Bangladesh. It is located south of the city of Chittagong. Cox's Bazar is also known by the na ...
(Bangladesh) and was to be sent to insurgents in
Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...
. The arms, as per intelligence were meant for groups in
Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...
and Isak-Muivah group in Manipur. Forces were deployed for counterinsurgency in the states of Manipur and Nagaland. Radio sets and other technological instruments were used to intercepts insurgents messages. On 5 April 1995, the Indian troops captured an insurgent named Hathi Bsrvah, trained by Pakistani ISI near Karachi. By 21 May 1995, the operation was finally called off. In 2015, R&AW and Military Intelligence of Indian Army provided the intelligence support to 21 Para (SF), for their counter-insurgency operation in Myanmar.


Nepal

In 1998, Mirza Dilshad Beg, a Nepalese parliamentarian and an ISI informant was assassinated by R&AW. During 1997–2013, R&AW along with IB carried out multiple operations, in which many militant leaders like
Yasin Bhatkal Syed Mohammed Ahmed Zarar Siddibappa, known as Yasin Bhatkal, is a convicted Indian Islamist terrorist, who was the co-founder and leader of the proscribed terrorist organisation Indian Mujahideen (IM). Yasin along with Riyaz Bhatkal and Iqbal ...
of
Indian Mujahideen Indian Mujahideen (IM) is an Islamic terrorist group which has been particularly active in India. The jihadist group was founded as an offshoot of the Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) by several radicalized members including Iqbal Bh ...
; Bhupinder Singh Bhuda of
Khalistan Commando Force The Khalistan Commando Force (KCF) is a militant Khalistani organisation operating in the state of Punjab with prominent members based in Canada, the United Kingdom and Pakistan. Its objective is the creation of a Sikh independent state of Khali ...
; Tariq Mehmood, Asif Ali, Syed Abdul Karim Tunda, Abu Qasim  of
Lashkar-e-Taiba Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT; ur, ; literally ''Army of the Good'', translated as ''Army of the Righteous'', or ''Army of the Pure'' and alternatively spelled as ''Lashkar-e-Tayyiba'', ''Lashkar-e-Toiba'', ''Lashkar-i-Taiba'', ''Lashkar-i-Tayyeba'') ...
; Fayaz Ahmed Mir of
Jaish-e-Mohammed Jaish-e-Mohammed ( ur, , literally "The Army of Muhammad", abbreviated as JeM) is a Pakistan-based: "The JEM is a Pakistan-based, militant Islamic group founded by Maulana Masood Azhar in March 2000." Deobandi: "Deobandis like Masood Azha ...
were secretly brought to India. In 2014, R&W along with
DGFI The Directorate General of Forces Intelligence ( bn, প্রতিরক্ষা গোয়েন্দা মহাপরিদপ্তর), commonly known as DGFI, is the military intelligence agency of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, tas ...
tracked down
Indian Mujahideen Indian Mujahideen (IM) is an Islamic terrorist group which has been particularly active in India. The jihadist group was founded as an offshoot of the Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) by several radicalized members including Iqbal Bh ...
's top commander, Zia Ur Rehman in Nepal. The operation was executed by
DGFI The Directorate General of Forces Intelligence ( bn, প্রতিরক্ষা গোয়েন্দা মহাপরিদপ্তর), commonly known as DGFI, is the military intelligence agency of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, tas ...
after formal request from India's R&AW and Nepal's law enforcement agencies. In 2017, it was reported that R&AW had kidnapped a mid-level ISI officer Lt. Col. Mohammed H Zahir from
Lumbini Lumbinī ( ne, लुम्बिनी, IPA=ˈlumbini , "the lovely") is a Buddhist pilgrimage site in the Rupandehi District of Lumbini Province in Nepal. It is the place where, according to Buddhist tradition, Queen Mahamayadevi gave birth ...
. There were reports that Zahir was among the ISI team that had taken part in kidnapping and smuggling of former Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav from Chabahar, Iran to Meshkal Pakistan.


Pakistan

During the late 1960s, R&AW had infiltrated the highest levels of Pakistani military and political leadership. It even had a
Mole Mole (or Molé) may refer to: Animals * Mole (animal) or "true mole", mammals in the family Talpidae, found in Eurasia and North America * Golden moles, southern African mammals in the family Chrysochloridae, similar to but unrelated to Talpida ...
inside General
Yahya Khan General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan , (Urdu: ; 4 February 1917 – 10 August 1980); commonly known as Yahya Khan, was a Pakistani military general who served as the third President of Pakistan and Chief Martial Law Administrator following his p ...
's Office. This mole had also alerted the Indian armed forces, a week before about impending Pakistani Air attack. This alert was correct as Pakistan attacked India on December 3rd, thus starting the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Kahuta is the site of the Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), Pakistan's main nuclear weapons laboratory as well as an emerging centre for long-range missile development. The primary Pakistani missile-material production facility is located at
Kahuta Kahuta (Punjabi, Urdu: کہوٹہ) is a census-designated city and tehsil in the Rawalpindi District of Punjab Province, Pakistan. The population of the Kahuta Tehsil is approximately 220,576 at the 2017 census. Kahuta is the home to the Kahuta ...
, employing gas centrifuge enrichment technology to produce Highly Enriched
Uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...
(HEU). R&AW first confirmed Pakistan's nuclear programs by analysing the hair samples snatched from the floor of barber shops near KRL; which showed that Pakistan had developed the ability to enrich uranium to weapons-grade quality. R&AW operatives knew about
Kahuta Research Laboratories The Dr. A. Q. Khan Research Laboratories, ( ur, ) or KRL for short, is a federally funded, multi-program national research institute and national laboratory site primarily dedicated to uranium enrichment, supercomputing and fluid mechanics. It ...
from at least early 1978, when the then Indian Prime Minister,
Morarji Desai Morarji Ranchhodji Desai (29 February 1896 – 10 April 1995) was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as the 4th Prime Minister of India between 1977 to 1979 leading the government formed by the Janata Party. During his ...
, accidentally exposed R&AW's operations on Pakistan's covert nuclear weapons program. In an indiscreet moment in a telephone conversation one day, Morarji Desai informed the then Pakistan President,
Zia-ul-Haq General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq HI, GCSJ, ร.ม.ภ, ( Urdu: ; 12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star general and politician who became the sixth President of Pakistan following a coup and declaration of martial ...
, that India was aware of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program. According to later reports, acting on this "tip-off", Pakistan's ISI and army eliminated most of R&AW's assets in and around Kahuta. R&AW received information from one of its informants in a London-based company, which had supplied Arctic-weather gear to Indian troops in
Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu and ...
that some Pakistan paramilitary forces had bought similar Arctic-weather gear. This information was shared with Indian Army which soon launched
Operation Meghdoot Operation Meghdoot ( "Operation Cloud Messenger" after a famous Sanskrit poem by Kalidasa) was the codename for the Indian Armed Forces' operation to seize control of the Siachen Glacier in Kashmir, precipitating the Siachen conflict. E ...
to take control of Siachen Glacier with around 300 acclimatised troops were airlifted to Siachen before Pakistan could launch any operation resulting in Indian head start and eventual Indian domination of all major peaks in Siachen. In the mid-1980s, R&AW set up two special units, ''Counterintelligence Team-X(CIT-X)'' and ''Counterintelligence Team-J(CIT-J)'', the first directed at
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
and the second at
Khalistan The Khalistan movement is a Sikh separatist movement seeking to create a homeland for Sikhs by establishing a sovereign state, called Khālistān (' Land of the Khalsa'), in the Punjab region. The proposed state would consist of land that cur ...
i groups. Rabinder Singh, the R&AW officer who later
defected In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...
to the United States in 2004, helped run CIT-J in its early years. Both these covert units used the services of cross-border traffickers to ferry weapons and funds across the border, much as their ISI counterparts were doing. According to former R&AW official and noted security analyst B. Raman, the Indian counter-campaign yielded results. "The role of our cover action capability in putting an end to the ISI's interference and support of khalistani militants in Punjab, thus completely stopping years of violence and insurgency", he wrote in 2002, "by making such interference prohibitively costly is little known and understood." These covert groups were disbanded during the tenure of IK Gujral and were never restarted. As per B Raman a former R&AW Additional Secretary, these covert groups were successful in keeping a check on ISI and were "responsible for ending the Khalistani insurgency". During the mid-1990s, R&AW undertook an operation to infiltrate various ISI-backed militant groups in Jammu and Kashmir. R&AW operatives infiltrated the area, collected military intelligence, and provided evidence about ISI's involvement in training and funding separatist groups. R&AW was successful not only in unearthing the links, but also in infiltrating and neutralising the terrorism in the Kashmir valley. It is also credited for creating a split in the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen. Operation Chanakya also marked the creation of pro-Indian groups in Kashmir like the Ikhwan-ul-Muslimeen, Muslim Mujahideen etc. These counter-insurgencies consist of ex-militants and relatives of those slain in the conflict. Ikhwan-ul-Muslimeen leader Kokka Parrey was himself assassinated by separatists. During the
Kargil War The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referr ...
, R&AW was also successful in intercepting a telephonic conversation between
Pervez Musharraf General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of t ...
, the then Pakistan Army Chief who was in Beijing and his chief of staff Lt. Gen. Mohammed Aziz in
Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...
. This tape was later published by India to prove Pakistani involvement in the Kargil incursion. In 2004, It had come to light that a timely tip-off by R&AW helped foil a third assassination plot against Pakistan's former president, General
Pervez Musharraf General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of t ...
. About 2–6 months before 26/11 Mumbai attacks, R&AW had intercepted several telephone calls through SIGINT which pointed at impending attacks on Mumbai Hotels by Pakistan-based terrorists, however there was a coordination failure and no follow up action was taken. Few hours before the attacks, a R&AW technician monitoring satellite transmissions picked up conversations between attackers and handlers, as the attackers were sailing toward Mumbai. The technician flagged the conversations as being suspicious and passed them on to his superiors. R&AW believed that they were worrying and immediately alerted the office of the National Security Advisor. However the intelligence was ignored. Later, just after the terrorists had attacked Mumbai, the technicians started monitoring the six phones used by the terrorists and recorded conversations between the terrorists and their handlers. During the 2016 Line of Control strike, R&AW played an important role by providing real time and accurate intelligence to operational advisors and planners. It had deployed its human assets closest to the 8 demarcated launch-pads in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. It also started Physical Surveillance of Chief of Pakistan army, 10 Corps commander and force commander of Northern Areas. During 2019 Balakot airstrike, R&AW played an important role by identifying and providing intelligence on Markaz Syed Ahmad Shaheed training camp, to operational planners. It had
HUMINT Human intelligence (abbreviated HUMINT and pronounced as ''hyoo-mint'') is intelligence gathered by means of interpersonal contact, as opposed to the more technical intelligence gathering disciplines such as signals intelligence (SIGINT), imager ...
that a large number of terrorists had congregated in the camp. On 1 March 2022, One of the hijackers of Flight IC 814 flight, Zahoor Mistry, was killed by two bike-borne assailants in Karachi. It was Mistry who had killed one of the passengers, 25-year-old Rupin Katyal, on the flight. It is widely believed he was assassinated by R&AW.


Saudi Arabia

Since 1990s, Given its position as the largest source of funds and promoter of
Salafist The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that originated during the nineteenth century. The name refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (), the first three generati ...
ideology and being considered major security challenge for India. R&AW has greatly expanded its activities and operation in Saudi Arabia. Abdul Karim Tunda was captured in Saudi Arabia and was secretly brought to India. Since 2012, R&AW has carried out numerous operations in Saudi Arabia. It is only because of such operations that dozens of high-ranking terrorists like Abu Jundal, Habibur Rahman, Sabeel Ahmed, Muhammed Gulnawaz etc. have been deported and arrested in India.


Sri Lanka

In the late 1980s, R&AW allegedly started funding and training LTTE to keep a check on
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, which had helped Pakistan in the
Indo-Pak War Since the Partition of British India in 1947 and subsequent creation of the dominions of India and Pakistan, the two countries have been involved in a number of wars, conflicts, and military standoffs. A long-running dispute over Kashmir and ...
by allowing Pakistani ships to refuel at Sri Lankan ports. However, when LTTE created a lot of problems and complications for India, R&AW switched sides and started providing intelligence support to Sri Lanka. When Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi was forced to send the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) under
Operation Pawan Operation Pawan ( hi, कार्यवाही पवन ''Kãryvãhi Pavan'', lit. "Operation Wind") was the code name assigned to the operation by the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) to take control of Jaffna from the Liberation Tigers o ...
in 1987 to restore normalcy in the region. The disastrous mission of the IPKF was blamed by many on the lack of coordination between the IPKF and R&AW. Its most disastrous manifestation was the Heliborne assault on LTTE HQ in the
Jaffna University The University of Jaffna ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாணப் பல்கலைக்கழகம், translit=Yāḻppāṇap Palkalaikkaḻakam; si, යාපනය විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය, ''Yāpanaya Viśvavidyālaya''; ...
campus in the opening stages of
Operation Pawan Operation Pawan ( hi, कार्यवाही पवन ''Kãryvãhi Pavan'', lit. "Operation Wind") was the code name assigned to the operation by the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) to take control of Jaffna from the Liberation Tigers o ...
. The dropping
paratroopers A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during Worl ...
became easy targets for the LTTE. A number of soldiers were killed. The
assassination of Rajiv Gandhi The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India, occurred as a result of a suicide bombing in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu, India on 21 May 1991. At least 14 others, in addition to Rajiv Gandhi, were killed. It was carrie ...
ended India's involvement in Sri Lankan Civil war. In 2010, R&AW carried out a snatch operation in Sri Lanka, in which a top
HuJI Huji or HUJI may refer to: *Hebrew University of Jerusalem, university in Israel * Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, Islamic fundamentalist organization *Hukou system (户籍), household registration system in mainland China and the Republic of China (Tai ...
militant Sheikh Abdul Khawaja – handler of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attackers was captured and secretly taken away to India. In 2015, it was allegedly reported by the Sri Lankan newspaper
The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
, that R&AW had played a role in uniting the opposition, to bring about the defeat of
Mahinda Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...
. There had been growing concern in the Indian government, on the increasing influence of economic and military rival China in Sri Lankan affairs. Rajapaksa further upped the ante by allowing 2 Chinese submarines to dock in 2014, without informing India, in spite of a stand still agreement to this effect between India and Sri Lanka. The growing Chinese tilt of Rajapaksa was viewed by India with unease. Further, it was alleged, that R&AW's Chief of Station in Colombo, helped coordination of talks within the opposition, and convincing former PM
Ranil Wickremasinghe Ranil Wickremesinghe ( si, රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ, ta, ரணில் விக்கிரமசிங்க; born 24 March 1949) is a Sri Lankan politician who is the current president of Sri Lanka since 21 July 2 ...
not to stand against Rajapaksa, but to choose a common opposition candidate, who had better chances of winning. The
Station chief A station chief is a government official who is the head of a team, post or function usually in a foreign country. Historically it commonly referred to the head of a defensible structure such as an ambassador's residence or colonial outpost. In G ...
was also alleged to have been in touch with Chandrika Kumaratunga, who played a key role in convincing
Maithripala Sirisena Maithripala Yapa Sirisena ( si, පල්ලෙවත්‍ත ගමරාළලාගේ මෛත්‍රීපාල යාපා සිරිසේන; ta, பல்லேவத்த கமராளலாகே மைத்திரி ...
to be the common candidate. However these allegations were denied by the
Indian Government The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
and the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister
Mangala Samaraweera Mangala Pinsiri Samaraweera (21 April 1956 – 24 August 2021; si, මංගල පින්සිරි සමරවීර, ta, மங்கள சமரவீர; ) was a Sri Lankan politician. He was the first openly gay politician from Sr ...
. Before the 2019 Easter bombings, R&AW had issued precision intelligence warnings to its Sri Lankan counterpart about an impending terrorist attack. All of these warnings were based on
HUMINT Human intelligence (abbreviated HUMINT and pronounced as ''hyoo-mint'') is intelligence gathered by means of interpersonal contact, as opposed to the more technical intelligence gathering disciplines such as signals intelligence (SIGINT), imager ...
gathered by it. In 2019, R&AW was also able to infiltrate Chinese
PLA PLA may refer to: Organizations Politics and military * People's Liberation Army, the armed forces of China and of the ruling Chinese Communist Party * People's Liberation Army (disambiguation) ** Irish National Liberation Army, formerly called ...
communication Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...
to their attache to Sri Lanka. It was because of this that Post of Chinese defence attache was vacant for nearly 8-9 months, as attache was called back after Chinese had learned of this infiltration.


Tajikistan

In the mid-1990s, after the rise of Pakistan backed
Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...
in Afghanistan, India started supporting the Northern Alliance. In order to provide support, India had acquired
Farkhor Air Base Farkhor Air Base is a military air base located near the town of Farkhor in Tajikistan, southeast of the capital Dushanbe. It is operated by the Indian Air Force in collaboration with the Tajik Air Force. Farkhor is India's first military ba ...
. This airbase was used by R&AW, along with M.I., as a base of operations for all their activities directed to Afghanistan like covert paramilitary operations and
HUMINT Human intelligence (abbreviated HUMINT and pronounced as ''hyoo-mint'') is intelligence gathered by means of interpersonal contact, as opposed to the more technical intelligence gathering disciplines such as signals intelligence (SIGINT), imager ...
gathering. The airbase was also used by
Aviation Research Centre The Aviation Research Centre (ARC) is India's imagery intelligence organisation, a part of the Directorate General of Security, run by the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW). It started functioning in November 1962, in the wake of the Sino-In ...
and DAI, to provide aerial reconnaissance to Northern Alliance.


Turkey

During the 2015 G20 Antalya summit, the R&AW station in
Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...
increased its strength in order to provide additional security cover for visiting PM Modi, along with SPG. Officers from
MI5 The Security Service, also known as MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), G ...
and Mossad were also deployed to provide Security as part of liaison agreement.


Europe


Belgium

In 2021, R&AW is reported to have foiled an assassination plot hatched by
Khalistan Commando Force The Khalistan Commando Force (KCF) is a militant Khalistani organisation operating in the state of Punjab with prominent members based in Canada, the United Kingdom and Pakistan. Its objective is the creation of a Sikh independent state of Khali ...
militants from Belgium and United Kingdom, to target farmers' leader protesting at Delhi.


Germany

Since 2014, R&AW has undertaken numerous physical surveillance, identification and tracking operations in Germany, targeted towards Khalistani militants and Islamic fundamentalists. It has aggressively recruited agents inside pro-Khalistan circles all across Germany, in cities like
Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
and
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
. The latest
surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as c ...
operation was undertaken in 2019, with target being Gurmeet Singh Bagga, co-leader of the
Khalistan Zindabad Force The Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) is a militant group and is part of the Khalistan movement to create a separate country Sikh homeland called Khalistan by carving Punjab and some parts of neighbouring states of Haryana, Rajasthan and Himacha ...
and a fugitive wanted for the Punjab drone Arms drop Case. R&AW had also managed to extract certain technical knowledge necessary for UAV flight controls, in order to advance India's Indigenous Military UAV program.


Italy

After 26/11, it was uncovered that Pakistan's ISI had not only laundered large amount of money for the attack but also arranged
VOIP Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also called IP telephony, is a method and group of technologies for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet. The terms Internet t ...
calls that allowed the handlers to talk to the militants through the Italian city of
Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo ...
. So in order to counter these activities, R&AW established a new station in Rome. Since then, it has undertaken hundreds of operations, directed towards Sleeper cells/ operatives of Pakistan-based Islamic and Khalistani militant organizations. It has also aggressively recruited agents inside Pro-Khalistan circles all across Italy


United Kingdom

During 1980s, R&AW launched an extensive operation in London to neutralise UK-based Pakistani national Abdul Khan, who had played an instrumental role in sheltering extremists and planning attacks in India. Since the suppression and defeat of Khalistani insurgency in late 1990s, R&AW has greatly expanded its informant network inside Khalistani circles and associations in the UK. Wanted Khalistanis like Paramjeet Singh Pamma and Kuldeep Singh Chaheru have been living in UK since they fled in 1992, thus necessitating increased R&AW presence.


North America


Canada

Kanishka Bombing case: On 23 June 1985 Air India's Flight 182 was blown up near Ireland and 329 people died. On the same day, another explosion took place at Tokyo's Narita airport's transit baggage building where baggage was being transferred from Cathay Pacific Flight No CP 003 to
Air India Flight 301 The 1985 Narita International Airport bombing was the attempted bombing of Air India Flight 301 by Canadian Sikh terrorists which took place on June 23, 1985, and was part of a transnational aviation bomb plot which also targeted Air India Flight 1 ...
which was scheduled for
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...
. Both aircraft were loaded with explosives from Canadian airports. Flight 301 got saved because of a delay in its departure. This was considered as a major setback to R&AW for failing to gather enough intelligence about the Khalistani militants. In April 2020, it was reported that R&AW and IB had launched an extensive operation in 2009–2015, to influence the Canadian government and politicians into supporting India's interests. Canada has long being accused by India for being a safe haven for khalistani separatists. In July 2020, Canada had put two Sikh men under No-fly list after
Canadian Security Intelligence Service The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS, ; french: Service canadien du renseignement de sécurité, ''SCRS'') is Canada's primary national intelligence agency. It is responsible for collecting, analysing, reporting and disseminating int ...
had gotten information, that both were going travel to Pakistan and carry out a ISI-backed terrorist attack inside India. One of the separatists was identified as the son of
Lakhbir Singh Rode Lakhbir Singh Rode is a Khalistani separatist and the nephew of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. He currently heads the International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF), which has branches in over a dozen countries in western Europe and Canada. Rode is ...
, a well known Khalistani terrorist. The Information was provided by R&AW under the liaison relationship.


Corruption cases

* In the edition of 8 February 2010 '' Outlook Magazine'' reported on former R&AW Chief, Ashok Chaturvedi, using
Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...
funds to take his wife along on international trips. After retirement, Chaturvedi had a diplomatic passport issued for himself and his wife. Per ''Outlook Magazine'': "Only grade 'A' ambassadors—usually IFS officers posted in key countries like the UK and US—are allowed to hold diplomatic passports after retirement. The majority, who do not fit that bill, hold passports issued to ordinary citizens. In fact, all former R&AW chiefs Outlook spoke to confirmed they had surrendered their diplomatic passports the day they retired. And their spouses weren't entitled to diplomatic passports even while they were in service." * In September 2007, R&AW was involved in a controversy due to a high-profile CBI raid at the residence of
Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
(retired) V K Singh, a retired
Joint Secretary Joint Secretary to Government of India (often abbreviated as JS, GoI or Union Joint Secretary or Joint Secretary to Union of India) is a post under the Central Staffing Scheme and the third highest non-political executive rank in Government of I ...
of R&AW who has recently written a book on R&AW where it was alleged that political interference and corruption in the intelligence agency has made it vulnerable to defections. One of the instances of corruption mentioned in the book was the preference given by R&AW departments towards purchasing intelligence from the
Rohde and Schwarz Rohde & Schwarz GmbH & Co KG (, ) is an international electronics group specializing in the fields of electronic test equipment, broadcast & media, cybersecurity, radiomonitoring and radiolocation, and radiocommunication. The company provides p ...
company. A reason for such corruption as explained by the author is that "''...R&AW was not answerable to any outside agency – the control of the Prime Minister's Office was perfunctory, at best – many officers thought that they were not only above the law but a law unto themselves.''" A case under the Official Secrets Act has also been filed against V K Singh. * On 19 August 2008 the R&AW Director (Language) who was also head of the R&AW Training Institute in
Gurgaon Gurgaon (pronunciation: ʊɽɡãːw, officially named Gurugram (pronunciation: ʊɾʊɡɾaːm, is a city located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest of the nationa ...
from 2005 tried to commit suicide in front of Prime Minister's Office, alleging inaction and wrong findings to a
sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment involving the use of explicit or implicit sexual overtones, including the unwelcome and inappropriate promises of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Sexual harassment includes a range of actions fro ...
complaint filed against a
Joint Secretary Joint Secretary to Government of India (often abbreviated as JS, GoI or Union Joint Secretary or Joint Secretary to Union of India) is a post under the Central Staffing Scheme and the third highest non-political executive rank in Government of I ...
, who was on deputation to R&AW. She was discharged from duty on the ground that she was mentally unfit and that her identity was disclosed. She was later separately charged with criminal trespass, human trafficking and for her repeated attempts to commit suicide. The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) ordered R&AW to reinstate her however R&AW filed an appeal against the CAT order which is pending before
Delhi High Court The High Court of Delhi ( IAST: ''dillī uchcha nyāyālaya'') was established on 31 October 1966, through the ''Delhi High Court Act, 1966'', with four judges, Chief Justice K. S. Hegde, Justice I. D. Dua, Justice H. R. Khanna and Justice S ...
. On 20 January 2011 she was sent for psychological evaluation and medical detention by a Delhi High Court judge when she tried to strip herself in the court protesting over the slow pace of her trial. The psychological evaluation report stated that 'she may be suffering a mental problem due to loss of job and her continuous run-ins at the courts, but she was certainly not suffering from any permanent or grave mental disorder.' On 15 December 2014, the
Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...
quashed the 2008 media release, which proclaimed Ms. Bhatia as mentally unstable, on the ground that it affected the "dignity, reputation and privacy of a citizen". * A senior technical officer was arrested by CBI on graft charges, on 4 February 2009. The scientist, a Director level employee, worked in the division that granted export licenses to companies dealing in "sensitive" items, including defence-related equipment. He was accused of demanding and accepting a bribe of ₹ 100,000 from a
Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
based manufacturer for obtaining an export license. * In September 2009, seven Additional Secretaries from the RAS cadre had gone on protest leave after A. B. Mathur, an IPS officer, superseded them to the post of Special Secretary. Over the years the tussle between the RAS cadre and officers on deputation from IPS cadre has caused friction in the working of the agency.


Defections and spy scandals

* In the early 1980s, K.V. Unnikrishnan, a 1962 batch IPS officer, who was posted at R&AW station in Colombo was honey-trapped by CIA. Between 1985 and 1987 when he was deputed as the station chief at Chennai, coordinating Sri Lanka operations, he gave away information to his handler on training and arming Tamil groups including LTTE, the Indian government's negotiating positions on the peace accord with Sri Lanka and the encryption code used by the agency. He was caught by IB counter-intelligence in 1987, spent a year in Tihar jail and was dismissed from IPS cadre. * In 2004, there was a spy scandal involving the
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
. Rabinder Singh,
Joint Secretary Joint Secretary to Government of India (often abbreviated as JS, GoI or Union Joint Secretary or Joint Secretary to Union of India) is a post under the Central Staffing Scheme and the third highest non-political executive rank in Government of I ...
and the head of R&AW's
South East Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...
department, defected to America on 5 June 2004. R&AW had already become suspicious about his movements and he was under surveillance for a very long time. Soon he was confronted by Counter Intelligence officials on 19 April 2004. Despite all precautions, Rabinder Singh managed to defect with 'sensitive files' he had allegedly removed from R&AW's headquarters in south New Delhi. This embarrassing fiasco and national security failure were attributed to weak surveillance, shoddy investigation, and lack of coordination between the Counter Intelligence and Security, Intelligence Bureau (IB) and R&AW. According to unconfirmed reports, Singh has surfaced in
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, USA. Recently in an affidavit submitted to the court, R&AW deposed that Singh has been traced in
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
. It has been speculated in the book ''Mission R&AW'' that although the CIA was found directly involved in compromising Singh and Unnikrishnan, at least eight other R&AW officers managed to clandestinely migrate and settle in foreign countries like the US and Canada with the help of their spy agencies. * In 2007, there was a spy scandal involving
Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
. A Bangladeshi
DGFI The Directorate General of Forces Intelligence ( bn, প্রতিরক্ষা গোয়েন্দা মহাপরিদপ্তর), commonly known as DGFI, is the military intelligence agency of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, tas ...
agent concealed his nationality before joining R&AW, and was known by the name of Diwan Chand Malik in the agency. He was known to have some important intel which was damaging for the national security. He joined the agency in 1999 and used to live in East
Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
. A case of cheating and forgery was filed against him at the Lodhi Colony police station on the basis of a complaint by a senior R&AW official. * On 25 March 2016, Pakistan claimed that they arrested a R&AW operative by the name of
Kulbhushan Jadhav Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav (also spelled Kulbhushan Yadav, alleged alias Hussain Mubarak Patel) (born 16 April 1970) is an Indian national. It is alleged by the Pakistani government that he was arrested in the Pakistani province of Balochistan o ...
who was operating in
Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...
province under the covername Hussain Mubarak Patel. Pakistan claimed that he was carrying a passport under that fake identity and used to operate a jewellery shop in
Chahbahar Chābahār ( fa, چابهار, bal, چھبار, čahbàr; ; formerly ''Bandar Beheshtī'') is the capital city of Chabahar County, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran. It is a free port ( free-trade zone) situated on the coast of the Gulf o ...
, Iran. He is believed to be a serving commander-ranked officer in
Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...
. According to a section of Pakistani media, he was involved in terrorist incidents in
Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
and Balochistan, most notably the terrorist attack on a bus full of Shia passengers in
Safoora Goth Safoora Goth ( ur, ) is a neighborhood in the Karachi East district of Karachi, Pakistan. It was previously administered as part of the Gulshan Town borough. See also *Malir Cantonment *Karachi Institute of Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine * ...
, Karachi. However, Indian MEA said that though Jadhav was an Indian Navy officer who retired prematurely, but he has no link with the government. The Indian High Commission has also sought consular access to Jadhav but Pakistan has not agreed to it and Pakistan leaked some information without realising glaring loopholes in the same. The
Iranian President The president of Iran ( fa, رئیس‌جمهور ایران, Rayis Jomhur-e Irān) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The president is the second highest-ranking official of Iran after the Supreme Leader. The president ...
Hassan Rouhani Hassan Rouhani ( fa, حسن روحانی, Standard Persian pronunciation: ; born Hassan Fereydoun ( fa, حسن فریدون, links=no); 12 November 1948) is an Iranian politician who served as the seventh president of Iran from 2013 to 2021. ...
also dismissed Pakistan's claim and stated them as mere rumours. According to an Indian official, Jadhav owns a cargo business in Iran and had been working out of
Bandar Abbas Bandar Abbas or Bandar-e ‘Abbās ( fa, , , ), is a port city and capital of Hormozgān Province on the southern coast of Iran, on the Persian Gulf. The city occupies a strategic position on the narrow Strait of Hormuz (just across from Musand ...
and Chabahar ports. "It appears that he strayed into Pakistani waters. But there is also a possibility that he was lured into Pakistan sometime back and fake documents were created on him.


List of R&AW Secretaries

Most of the
Secretaries A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a wh ...
of Research and Analysis Wing have been
Indian Police Service The Indian Police Service ( IPS) is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became independent from the British Raj. Along with the Indian Administrative Service (IAS ...
(IPS) officers. R. N. Kao and K. Sankaran Nair belonged to the
Imperial Police The Indian Imperial Police, referred to variously as the Imperial Police or simply the Indian Police or, by 1905, Imperial Police, was part of the Indian Police Services, the uniform system of police administration in British Raj, as established by ...
(IP), of the British colonial days which was renamed as the Indian Police Service after Indian Independence in 1947. N. F. Suntook had served in the
Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...
, then in the Indian Police Service and in the Indian Frontier Administration Service. Vikram Sood was from the
Indian Postal Service India Post is a government-operated postal system in India, part of the Department of Post under the Ministry of Communications. Generally known as the Post Office, it is the most widely distributed postal system in the world. Warren Hastings ...
(IPoS)and was later permanently absorbed in the RAS cadre. Now he acts as Advisor to Fair Observer. A. S. Dulat was an Indian Police Service officer deputed from the Intelligence Bureau. All the chiefs have been experts on China or
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
except for Ashok Chaturvedi, who was an expert on
Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
.


In popular culture

Unlike in the Western cultural sphere, which has portrayed its foreign intelligence agencies (such as the
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
and
MI6 The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...
) in different media forms, Indian authors and actors have been shy to explore the area of espionage, especially R&AW, until the 1990s. Unlike CBI, the federal investigative agency of
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, whose existence is known to the majority of people, R&AW receives little to no attention from the populace, which seems to be unaware of the existence of such an organisation or even India's internal intelligence agency, the Intelligence Bureau (IB). Excessive secrecy surrounding activities and rare declassification of the information is considered to be the major reasons behind this. Nevertheless, there were films which refer to 'agents' and 'espionage', like ''Aankhen'' (1968, Ramanand Sagar Production, starring
Dharmendra Dharam Singh Deol (born 8 December 1935), also known mononymously as Dharmendra, is an Indian actor, producer and politician who is known for his work in Hindi films. Known as the first " He-Man" of Bollywood, Dharmendra has worked in over 301 ...
, Mala Sinha), ''Prem Pujari'' starring
Dev Anand Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand (26 September 1923 – 3 December 2011), better known as Dev Anand, was an Indian actor, writer, director and producer known for his work in Hindi cinema, through a career that spanned over six decades. He was ...
in 1970, '' Hindustan Ki Kasam'' (starring
Raaj Kumar Raaj Kumar (born Kulbhushan Pandit; 8 October 1926 3 July 1996) was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi films. He appeared in the Oscar-nominated 1957 film ''Mother India'' and starred in over 70 Hindi films in a career that spanned over four ...
,
Priya Rajvansh Priya Rajvansh (30 December 1936 – 27 March 2000), born Vera Sunder Singh, was an Indian actress, who is known for her performance in Hindi films like ''Heer Raanjha'' (1970) and ''Hanste Zakhm'' (1973), amongst a handful of films she did dur ...
in 1973) and ''
Highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...
'' (starring
Suresh Gopi Suresh Gopi (born 26 June 1958) is an Indian actor, politician, playback singer and television presenter. He works predominantly in Malayalam cinema and has also appeared in some Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Bollywood films. Suresh made his acti ...
, Bhanupriya) including some modern films such as ''
Romeo Akbar Walter ''Romeo Akbar Walter'' (; alluding the Research and Analysis Wing) is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film written and directed by Robbie Grewal. It stars John Abraham, Mouni Roy, Jackie Shroff and Sikandar Kher. The narrative ce ...
'' in 2019. However, since the late 1990s and early 2000 the following
Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
and other regional films have openly mentioned R&AW and its allied units, with the intelligence agencies at the centre of the plot. The thriving entertainment channels in India have started to tap into the theme of Intelligence agencies. ''2612'' which used to air on Life OK, featured Cabir Maira as a R&AW agent Anand Swami who helps an STF officer Randeep Rathore to save the country from a terrorist attack. ''Time Bomb 9/11'', a series aired on
Zee TV Zee TV (stylised as ZEE TV) is a Hindi general entertainment pay television channel in India. It was launched on 2 October 1992, as the first privately owned TV channel in the country. It is owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. Zee TV also ...
, featured
Rajeev Khandelwal Rajeev Khandelwal (born 16 October 1975) is an Indian film and television actor, singer and host. He started his career directing the television series '' Filmy Chakkar''. His break as an actor was as the lead in the television drama, '' Kahi ...
in the role of a R&AW field officer who attempts to defuse a nuclear bomb set in India, as well as saving the life of the Indian prime minister.
Zee Bangla Zee Bangla is an Indian general entertainment pay television channel broadcasting in the Bengali language. It is owned by the Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It is the first Bengali-language satellite television channel in India, officially com ...
featured a serial named ''Mohona'' where the chief protagonist is a R&AW officer. ''Sajda Tere Pyar Mein'' a series on
Star Plus StarPlus is an Indian Hindi language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star (formerly ''Star India''), a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company India. The network's programming consists of family dramas, comedies, ...
, features
Shaleen Bhanot Shalin Bhanot (born 15 November 1983) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi television. Bhanot started his career as a contestant in MTV Roadies and since known for starring in various dramas and web shows. In 2008, he participated in '' Nach ...
in the role of a R&AW officer who asks a young woman named Aliya for help in catching a spy named Mahendra Pratap. The Indian version of '' 24'' has a host of characters affiliated with R&AW. The 2018 web series '' Sacred Games'' has a R&AW agent played by
Radhika Apte Radhika Apte (born 7 September 1985) is an Indian actress. She works predominantly in Hindi films, and has appeared in a few Tamil, Marathi, Telugu, Bengali, and English-language films. She began acting in theatre and made her film debut with a ...
. Foreign films which have actors playing R&AW agents include Pakistan-based-films such as '' Waar'' (2013). Some academic commentators have linked the increasing surfeit of Indian films and TV series on espionage thriller genre, where an Indian hero staves off impending global catastrophe, as a marker of an aspirational '' Pax Indica'' not based on 'older paradigms of
internationalism Internationalism may refer to: * Cosmopolitanism, the view that all human ethnic groups belong to a single community based on a shared morality as opposed to communitarianism, patriotism and nationalism * International Style, a major architectur ...
based on universal brotherhood and non-violent pacifism associated with
Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
and
Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...
' but on the motif of an increasingly assertive
potential superpower A potential superpower is a state or a political and economic entity that is speculated to be—or to have the potential to soon become—a superpower. Currently, only the United States fulfills the criteria to be considered a superpower. How ...
.


See also

*
Intelligence Bureau (India) The Intelligence Bureau (IB) (Hindi: आसूचना ब्यूरो; IAST: āsūcanā byūro) is India's domestic internal security and counter-intelligence agency under Ministry of Home Affairs. It was founded in 1887 as ''Central S ...
*
Central Bureau of Investigation The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the premier investigating agency of India. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. Originally set up to investigate bribery and governmen ...
* Mass surveillance in India * List of Indian intelligence agencies


Notes


References


Further reading

* ''Inside RAW'', Ashok Raina, Vikas Publishing House, New Delhi, 1981 *
Smash and grab: Annexation of Sikkim
', Sunanda K Datta-Ray, Tranquebar, 1984 * ''Open Secrets: India's Intelligence Unveiled'' – Maloy Krishna Dhar, New Delhi, Manas Publication, 2005 *
Mission to Pakistan: An Intelligence Agent in Pakistan
' Maloy Kri. Dhar, Manas Publication, 1 January 2002, * ''Mission: Pakistan'', Maloy Krishna Dhar, iUniverse (January 2004), * ''Fulcrum of Evil: ISI, CIA and Al qaeda Nexus'' – Maloy K Dhar, New Delhi, Manas Publication, 2006, . * ''Sin of National conscience'' – R.N. Kulkarni, Mysore: Kritagnya Publication, 2004. * ''Intelligence: Past, Present, Future'' – B.R. Raman * ''Indians Hand Evidence on bin Laden to US'',
Herald Sun The ''Herald Sun'' is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the Murdoch owned News Corp. The ''Herald S ...
, 17 September 2001. * ''The KaoBoys of RAW: Down Memory Lane'', B. Raman, Lancer Publishers (2007), * ', K. Sankaran Nayar, Manas Publication * ''RAW: Global and Regional Ambitions'' edited by Rashid Ahmad Khan and Muhammad Saleem, Islamabad Policy Research Institute, Asia Printers, Islamabad, 2005 * ''The Game Of Foxes: J-K Intelligence War'', Manoj Joshi, Times Of India, 16 July 1994 * ''Indian Spy Agency's Machinations'',
Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...
, The Muslim, 18 December 1996 p6 *
RAW: Research and Analysis Wing
' – Tariq Ismail Sagar, Sagar Publication. See also
E-buyer in soup for Pak writer's book on RAW
Retrieved 27 July 2007. * '' Soft Target: How the Indian Intelligence Service Penetrated Canada'' – Zuhair Kashmeri and Brian McAndrew, Toronto: James Lorimer, 1989. *
Spies in the Himalayas: Secret Missions and Perilous Climbs.
' – MS Kohli and Kenneth Conboy, Ed. KS Lawrence, University of Kansas Press, 2003. *

', DC Pathak, New Delhi: Manas Publication, 2003. *
Indian intervention in Sri Lanka: The role of India's intelligence agencies
', Rohan Gunaratna, South Asian Network on Conflict Research, 1993, * ''India's External Intelligence: Secrets of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW)'', Maj. Gen. V.K Singh, Manas Publications, * *
Assignment Colombo
', J.N. Dixit, Konark Publishers Pvt. Ltd, Delhi, 1998. * ''Escape To Nowhere'', Amar Bhushan, Konark publishers, 2012, *
Mission R&AW
', RK Yadav, Manas Publications, 2014, *
The Zero-Cost Mission/The Wily Agent
', Amar Bhushan, Harper Collins (India), 2018. * ''The Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace'', A.S. Daulat, Aditya Sinha and Asad Durrani, HarperCollins, 2018. {{authority control Indian intelligence agencies Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Information sensitivity Foreign intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War 1968 establishments in Delhi