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India's silent guardian: The role of the R&AW in national power and intelligence.

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CGO Complex, New Delhi. Widely believed to be the headquarters of the Research and Analysis Wing. Zzaamm / Commons CC-BY 3.0 Entebbe. Cyclone. Rubicon. Jungle. Condor.  What do these names have in common? These are the codenames of highly sensitive and clandestine operations of the Mossad, CIA, and MI6. Highly trained, highly adept and highly efficient world-class intelligence agencies, capable of carrying out unprecedented operations across the seven seas.  What do they also have in common? Their home countries are known to be great powers known to dramatically influence and shape global perspectives and outlooks, with copious amounts of soft and hard power to boot. Through such organisations, select polities around the world are able to exert an unprecedented amount of power and influence in the global soft power war, and through the power of perceptions and public opinions alone, are able to change opinions, spark rebellion, and topple regimes thousands of kilometres away. The role
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Narrative as a catalyst and compass of national interest.

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Raisina Hill at night. Shaurya Singh / Pixabay "It is not a matter of what is true that counts, but a matter of what is perceived to be true."  These are the words of the former US Secretary of State, and former National Security Advisor under the Nixon administration Henry Kissinger, on the power of perspective and good storytelling in the world of realpolitik, which many consider him to be the harbinger of, which enabled America to diplomatically annihilate any and all threats to American interests.  Today, these words hold unprecedented credence given the current geopolitical situation prevailing in the world. Many polities today are not able to effectively advance their national interests, simply due to a lack of narrative and/or ability to advantageously propagate a set narrative that is conducive to the national interest. Taking India's case specifically, it has been a historical drawback that it has never been able to effectively communicate its narrative and stanc
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Opinion | Enough is enough. It's time for India to pursue its classic style of strategic autonomy.

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The White House.  Andreas H. / Pixabay In recent years, the India - US relationship has been seen by many in the international relations community to be blossoming due to the common adversary of both countries - an increasingly imperialistic and hegemonistic China. The US sees India as a crucial geopolitical hedge against China in the Indo-Pacific region, and also sees India as a regional buffer and security bulwark should the unthinkable happen. But today, the US is increasingly making incredibly unusual moves on the global geopolitical chessboard as tensions flare up in the two most consequential wars of the decade. And now adding to the bizarre moves, is a strong reaction to an alleged "plot by an Indian citizen associated with the Indian Government" to murder a Khalistani extremist. The US has taken the India
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G20 Special Part II: How the world order is being reshaped on its sidelines.

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The 'official' outcomes of the G20 summit in Delhi were many. Statements were made, documents were signed, dinners were held, and decisions were made. The G20 became more representative, politically and socially inclusive, and covered a wider range of issues than ever before. This blog is the second part of a two-part blog series on the G20 summit in Delhi. The first part, where the G20 summit's official outcomes, the decisions made under its framework, and the Delhi Declaration have been discussed in detail, can be found here -  G20 Special Part I: The Delhi Declaration and its outcomes. But the official summit served as a facade for the actual big meetings, big decisions, and big agreements made on its sidelines, that aim to reshape the world order. The decisions taken on its sidelines may change the way that the East trades with the West, the power dynamics between the East and the West, cementing India's global stature as an emerging superpower capable of leading po
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G20 Special Part I: The Delhi Declaration and its outcomes.

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India has managed to pull off a feat that was once considered to be near impossible: Forging a consensus, and signing a declaration despite the deep divisions that loom large on the world. This is widely considered to be a diplomatic win for India as it takes its place on the high table of global affairs. This blog is divided into two parts: The first being the official outcomes of the G20 summit, the Delhi Declaration and related talks under the G20 framework, and the second being the talks on its sidelines, the initiatives taken outside its framework, and their implications on India's national interest, global geopolitics, and the world order at large. The Delhi Declaration is seen as a document that tries to amplify the voice and interests of the Global South, which is becoming more influential in global matters, and seeks to challenge the unofficial monopoly of decision-making of the G7, and its allies in the West. It also seeks to establish an agreement on other issues concern
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Is India ready to fight the information war?

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The 21st century has brought forth many technological advancements on the world, and some of the most important of these are digital and television media. In this age of information technology, information (true or not) can be spread incredibly quickly to a larger audience than ever before with a single click. India is at an important juncture of time, where it is exerting significant influence and projecting its might on the global stage, but the prevalence of technology in daily life and its resultant, that is the so-called 'information war', where wars are based on fighting through competing narratives and aiming to demoralize the enemy, is becoming an increasingly inevitable challenge to India's rising stature as an emerging global superpower. Today, it is largely believed that Western media publications, from nations such as the US, the UK, France and Germany are leading the information war, as they are able to exert their control on building global narratives through
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Is the US still a superpower today?

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Although this is a question that many in America and her allied nations would not want to raise, it is very much an evident fact that the world no longer accepts the 'domination' by the West and her allies. Today, the world outside Europe and North America are in an informal agreement that the US may not retain its superpower status to the extent that it did during the height of the Cold War or after the dissolution of the erstwhile Soviet Union. This informal agreement among the rest of the world that the US may be well on its way to losing its status as the world's sole superpower, may result in a future power vacuum. Other emerging superpowers today, such as China and India, are already sensing this and are vying to fill the possible 'power vacuum' that may be caused by the US' decline. Today, the US does not seem to mind taking a backseat in world affairs, and the desire to control the world order as per its whims and fancies seems to be fading away from the
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