An exposé released by a United States Commission in late March has pierced the polished exterior of India’s democratic image, revealing a far darker reality beneath.
This was no vague warning or speculative analysis — it was a forensic breakdown of an organized campaign of internal warfare, waged not against foreign enemies but against India’s own citizens.
The document uncovers a sprawling network of surveillance, psychological manipulation and cold-blooded executions allegedly conducted under the directive of India’s elite intelligence service.
Far from targeting terrorists or hostile agents, this focused its crosshairs on minorities and dissidents — Sikhs, Muslims, Dalits and Christians.
According to the report, this system is not rogue or accidental.
It is structured, state-enabled and brutally efficient.
With over 1,100 deaths linked to extrajudicial actions, the machinery appears designed not merely to eliminate voices of resistance but to instill fear in every corner of society.
Innocent people are either coerced into silence or made to disappear.
But repression at home isn’t the full extent of the threat.
The commission also highlights how India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) has blurred the lines between national security and global manipulation.
By pushing doctored narratives through both domestic media and foreign channels, the state has reportedly distorted minority rights data, undermined international watchdogs and polluted discourse beyond its borders.
Social media platforms have become battlegrounds for fabricated stories, hate campaigns and reputation attacks — all allegedly orchestrated to normalize discrimination while delegitimizing anyone who questions the state’s agenda.
The commission notes a sharp rise — more than 70% — in hate-driven violence over a short span, fuelled by online radicalization and the spread of sectarian lies.
Equally disturbing is the implication of collaboration at the highest levels.
The report indicates that political figures, bureaucratic allies and even elements of the judicial system have either actively supported or willfully ignored this operation.
In effect, the line between the intelligence apparatus and government institutions has dissolved, leaving no internal mechanism for accountability.
This isn’t just a domestic issue — it’s a warning flare for the world.
What’s unfolding in India signals a dangerous shift in global norms: this heinous use of intelligence services not for national defence, but for ideological cleansing.
This mirrors the playbook of authoritarian regimes, yet it’s happening in a country that still presents herself as a democratic beacon and an emblem of peace.
The report demands a reckoning.
If the global community continues to prioritize diplomacy and commerce over justice, the precedent will be catastrophic.
India’s covert war on her own people is not an internal affair — it’s a crisis of international consequence.
It’s no longer about who rules — it’s about who gets to live without fear in the shadows of power.
—The writer is an alumnus of QAU, MPhil scholar & a freelance columnist, based in Islamabad. (fa7263125@gmail.com)
