(From Top World Intelligence Agencies)
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserts Indian control over the disputed territory of Kashmir, India’s intelligence service has gained new prominence as an instrument of Modi’s nationalist agenda.
The current chief of R&AW is Samant Goel, a career intelligence officer who was appointedModi in June 2019. The former chief of operations at R&AW, Goel played a key role in planning the Indian Air Force’s attack on suspected a Pakistani terrorist training camp in the town of Balakot in February 2019.
India’s foreign intelligence agency, established in 1968, is responsible for intelligence-gathering, counterproliferation, counterterrorism, nuclear security, and advising policymakers.
While the establishment of R&AW was primarily geared towards managing the influence of China, the agency has pivoted in the 21st century to focus on Pakistan and its Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI). The tense situation in the Muslim-majority Indian state of Kashmir on the border of Pakistan is now R&AW’s priority.
The activities and functions of R&AW are confidential, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. In 2000 the Federation of American Scientists estimated that RAW had 8-10,000 agents and an estimated budget of $145 million. Declassification of past operations is uncommon. Unlike the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the domestic security agency of India, R&AW has received little attention from the press and is not well-known among the general public.
That may be about to change.
“Goel has a long career in intelligence,” says Times of India, “starting with opposing Sikh militancy as a Punjabi law enforcement officer, he is a specialist in Pakistan based terror groups and has worked overseas in Dubai and London. “
RAW in the News
- “The Pathos of Pakistan,” by Vikram Sood (August 12, 2019, Observer Research Foundation)
- “Kashmir Needs Political Engagement, Not Military Solutions,” June 4, 2019, Press Trust of India.)
