India Factpage
CIO - Lori Wong
India has various organizations for intelligence purposes
DIA - India’s Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) was formulated in February 2002 as part of an overhaul of the country's inadequate intelligence information gathering. With new challenges facing the country, this formation was deemed necessary. It is under the command of Lt. Gen. Kamal Davar. Lt. Gen. Davar is the principal military intelligence adviser of India. US Vice-Admiral Thomas R. Wilson, who heads the American DIA, offered India advice on establishing their DIA.
The intelligence task force, headed by Jammu and Kashmir governor G.C. Saxena, who is also the former head of Research and Analysis Wing [RAW], is working on upgrading the country's intelligence capabilities. The DIA will coordinate military (Army), naval and Air Force intelligence which have formerly been locked in rivalries and rarely share important operational information. The DIA will also be involved in "intelligence support groups" run by IB and RAW in a revamped intelligence setup. DIA field personnel will interact with RAW and IB operatives regularly. With a need for more focus in intelligence agencies, the DIA was established to create a common ground in India, armed with more powers than any past military intelligence setup.
RAW - The Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) is India’s foreign intelligence agency. It works directly under the Prime Minister, yet keeps its structure and operations secret from Parliament. It has been instrumental in building India’s national power and has taken a significant role in formulating India’s domestic and foreign policies. RAW is the principal provider of information to military and paramilitary forces on any extraordinary troop movements and in warning of possible hostilities. RAW is India’s equivalent of the Unites States CIA.
In 1968, India established this special branch of its intelligence service in pursuit of specifically targeting Pakistan. The formation of the RAW was based on the belief that Pakistan was supplying weapons to Sikh terrorists, and providing shelter and training to the militants in Pakistan.
A website belonging to various Indian ethnic and religious minorities says RAW uses terrorism as a weapon to subdue and oppress minorities and neighboring countries. RAW is engaged in disinformation campaigns, espionage, sabotage and terrorism against Pakistan and other neighboring countries. There are numerous instances of the involvement of RAW in terrorist activities in Pakistan. An estimated 35,000 RAW agents have entered Pakistan at various times between 1983-99. As many as 40 terrorist camps are currently operating at Rajasthan, East Punjab, Kashmir, and Uttar Pradesh.
The RAW, seems to be quite corrupt. While working directly under the Prime Minister, the structure, rank, pay and perks of the RAW are kept secret from Parliament.
India’s relations to other countries
India relates with other countries on many different terms. Some strategists even foresee Israeli clashes with Iran and India in the future. British rule in India came to an end in 1947. Britain, who played a dominant role in India and Egypt, attached great strategic importance to the region. While Russia might be providing training and assistance to the RAW, it is not directly participating in the trouble making. Russia is, however, the main source of arms for India. It has significantly supported India in developing nuclear programs. Although China might have a small hand in the political violence in India, there does not seem to be a “foreign hand” in any of the violence in either India or Pakistan. India is capable of deceptive practices under the authority of their own intelligence agencies. There seems to be aspirations for political power within the country as well as among surrounding countries. There are possibilities of revolutions because of the hostility felt by India’s people and due to the many deaths and conflict taking place each day.
Conflict Within India
Hon. Edolphus Towns in the US House of Representatives, in 1999 also reveals what other atrocities have taken place. "Whether or not one agrees with President Clinton's policy in Kosovo, we went there to stop the `ethnic cleansing' of the Kosovars by the Serbian government. Yet we have averted our glance from a similar campaign throughout India , a situation the Indian Supreme Court described as `worse than a genocide.' This ethnic cleansing has taken the lives of over 250,000 Sikhs since 1984, over 200,000 Christians in Nagaland since 1947, over 60,000 Muslims in Kashmir since 1988, and thousands upon thousands of Dalits, Assamese, Manipuris, Tamils, and other minority peoples."
Solutions?
Governments discuss nuclear weaponry with little talk of the important influence intelligence organizations have on conflict. People are actually getting killed everyday. Nuclear weapons are a threat, yet domestic violence has much more potential to grow problems. It is said that much of the conflict between Pakistan and India is due to the rivalries between the ISI (Pakistan) and the RAW (India).
There could be a joint working group set up against terrorism would which could hopefully soften the activities of both the intelligence agencies since both organizations are the main cause of tension between the two countries.
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/iltoc.html
http://www.fas.org/irp/world/india/mod/dia.htm