RAW's espionage
India's RAW finds itself under intense international scrutiny once again. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has now recommended targeted sanctions against the intelligence agency, a move that serves as an indictment of India's growing web of covert operations abroad. The USCIRF's findings add weight to previous investigative reports from The Washington Post and The Guardian, which exposed India's role in extrajudicial killings abroad, including the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada and the foiled plot against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the US, leaving India's denials increasingly untenable.
The USCIRF report further casts a harsh spotlight on the country's deteriorating human rights landscape. Under the BJP government, religious minorities — particularly Muslims, Christians and Sikhs — have faced systemic discrimination. Draconian laws and targeted demolitions of minority properties further expose the deepening state-sponsored repression. But despite the USCIRF findings, significant pushback from Washington remains improbable.
The US has long viewed India as a strategic counterweight to China, a consideration that has consistently tempered criticism of its human rights record. Even when US authorities charged former RAW operative Vikash Yadav in 2023 for his role in an assassination plot, diplomatic interests took precedence over punitive measures. But silence in the face of such blatant transgressions is no longer an option.
Canada has raised alarms. The UK has voiced concerns. Now, a US government panel is calling for accountability. If Western powers continue to prioritise geopolitical interests over the principles of sovereignty and human rights, they risk emboldening such covert aggression worldwide.
As expected, India has dismissed the accusations as foreign interference. But the weight of evidence is mounting. New Delhi's growing appetite for extrajudicial killings and covert operations is rapidly spreading. The question is no longer whether India is engaging in these acts, but whether the world is willing to hold it accountable.
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