India’s intelligence agencies led by RAW have expanded their operations beyond regional boundaries. This approach points out Modi’s strategic goals in international relations. Most powerful countries do extend their intelligence networks beyond their borders to keep an eye on their friends and foes. Courts in Qatar recently awarded death sentences to eight Indian naval personnel, out of which seven were commissioned officers. This is the third such episode in the last decade where Indian espionage networks have been caught. First instance was when Pakistani authorities caught Commander Kulbhushan Jhadev from Baluchistan. More recently, Canada blamed Indian government of killing Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil. So, what is India trying to gain by expanding its espionage networks?

CIA, Mossad, MI6, and KGB have all had foothold in multiple counties at the same time since the cold war era. However, they seldom get caught or exposed. It is not as blatant as Indian activities. Indian espionage activities getting exposed on a regular basis point towards RAW’s incapability and lack of quality. One major goal of intelligence networks is to keep an eye on enemies without them knowing. Repeated arrests of spies abroad and exposure of operations are basically failures of espionage networks. Nevertheless, recent arrests and trials in Qatar show that there must be more India sponsored espionage activities in the gulf regions which may be going on unchecked. India has been using Afghanistan as a launching pad to conduct espionage activities inside Pakistan. Was Qatar’s soil being used as a launching pad for RAW’s gulf operations?

Indian ambitions within the region and beyond are manifold. However, primary goals of the expansion of Indian intelligence networks are three. First, to keep Pakistan’s two offensive corps forces occupied with insurgents in Baluchistan, and to malign Pakistan’s image at the global level. Second, to keep an eye on Indian Sikh and Muslim diaspora settled in Europe, North America, and Australia. Lastly, India’s growing evil strategic nexus with Israel may also involve digging out the economic and military capabilities of gulf countries. The espionage activities unearthed by Qatar were about India’s third ambition mentioned above. As the complete judgement is still awaited, initial reports from Doha said that the Indian navy personnel were found guilty of passing on information regarding Qatar’s submarines to Israeli authorities.

The Kulbhushan episode and what little is known of the Qatar episode point out some similar patterns of Indian spying. Since, the Indian diaspora is fairly large in all the developed countries, RAW commissions its spies in the garb of private contractors or businessmen. Most countries in the world welcome all kinds of investments and businessmen, therefore, for Indians, this is an easier way to penetrate within the ranks. Secondly, Indian espionage activities are not based on short-term working, but on long term planning and settlement. Kulbhushan Jhadev and the Indian navy personnel caught in Qatar seemed to have settled their roots at their destinations for years before they actively began spying. India takes advantage of the lack of scrutiny for business visas in gulf counties, as well as in Iran.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau while addressing the Canadian parliament accused Indian government of killing Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. This caused the diplomatic relations between Canada and India to further nosedive as for decades Canada’s parliament has been backing the demand for a separate Sikh homeland in South Asia. The accusation that was later seconded by the US as well shows Modi’s aggressive posturing as far as dissent is concerned. Also, BJP led India has developed this new habit of committing crimes and then opting for a ‘do whatever you can’ attitude through diplomatic channels. Like Canada, a stronger diplomatic response is also required by Qatar if evil Indian intelligence networks have to be deterred. Pakistan too needs to begin lobbying internationally to address this issue as it has been the prime victim of India sponsored espionage and terrorist activities in Baluchistan.