The research and analysis wing aka RAW is the main intelligence agency of India. It was established in September 1968 in the wake of intelligence failure in Sino Indian war of 1962 and Indo-Pak war of 1965. Agency job is to gather intelligence on foreign countries, corporations and persons, counterterrorism and counterintelligence especially against Pakistan’s ISI, defence of Indian nuclear program, and guiding policies.
Intelligence Bureau (IB) created by British, was the predecessor intelligence agency of RAW but due to its ineffective methods it was dismantled and replaced. RAW follows the working protocol of CIA (central intelligence agency) type of training and methodology, whereas IB was mostly following the guidelines of the British MI5. Agents are drafted from all fields and are then carefully placed to maximize their potential in their field. RAW had in the beginning only one rival agency that was the Pakistani intelligence agency called inter-service intelligence famously known as ISI. RAW directs its most efforts against ISI to counter the effect of their rival agency.
RAW activities in PAKISTAN:
RAW was heavily involved in 1971 war in Bangladesh supporting the rebels known as Mukhti Banni of Bangladesh- trained, armed and facilitated by RAW against the Pakistani establishment.
Kahuta blueprint debacle was in General Zia ul Haq’s era in which the RAW infiltrated the secure nuclear site at kahuta to learn about the Pakistani nuclear development. The agent was caught by the Pakistani establishment.
Recently a man named Kulbushan Yadav who is believed to be a commander in Indian Navy and a RAW agent, under the alias of Hussain Mubarak Patel was caught in Baluchistan by ISI. He was carrying an Indian passport with a fake identity. He gave a statement regarding his directives to tarnish the peace and tranquillity in the province of Baluchistan and to support the separatist movement financially, logistically and training wise. He was involved in major terrorist attacks in Balochistan and Karachi, which resulted in deaths of hundreds of civilians and military personnel. India has denied such claim by the Pakistani establishment.
Ravindra Kaushik was a theatre artist in his earlier days. He was spotted by RAW officials during one of his dramatic meets and was contacted and offered the job of an undercover agent. In 1975, He managed to join Pakistani army and rose to the rank of ‘Major’, his cover was later blown, and he was arrested, interrogated and executed by the Pakistani military establishment.
There have been various operations by RAW in Pakistan in different ways like RAW’s funding and training of MQM (Muttahida Quomi Movement) and their personnel for the purpose of inciting anarchy and disorder in Karachi.
In Peshawar, there have been several violent activities which were aided and abetted by RAW and all such incidents have a concealed purpose which is in the objectives of RAW’s covert operation activities.
RAW, not as strong as its arch-rival ISI but, it is a fact that RAW is heavily involved in covert operations in Pakistan.
