While studying at Cambridge University, Kim Philby (b.1912) was convinced by Soviet Intelligence Officers that communism was better than capitalism. Kim Philby later joined the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), rapidly climbed the ranks and eventually became Head of the Section dealing with the Soviet Union. Throughout his career, he passed crucial information to the KGB. In 1951, suspicion arose when two other “Cambridge Five” members, Donald Maclean and Guy Burgess, defected to the Soviet Union. Although Kim Philby was investigated, he avoided exposure due to his powerful connections. However, in 1963, mounting evidence led to his defection to the Soviet Union, where he stayed until he died in 1988. His story remains one of the most striking examples of subversion and espionage.
Subversion refers to adversaries’ efforts to undermine a country’s individuals, institutions, and groups. It typically affects the state’s power, authority, stability, or sovereignty through various means. While cases of subversion can involve political, social, and economic elements, they often include actions linked to espionage, terrorism, insurgency, the spread of disinformation, etc.
Typically, terrorists and insurgents employ a double-edged sword with subversion forming one edge and armed struggle the other. Subversion involves establishing front groups and penetrating and manipulating existing political structures, infiltrating security forces and other institutions of the state. Subversive groups also work through existing organisations, which provide legitimacy and attract international support. They also establish supposedly independent organisations that are created and controlled by others. By penetrating state institutions, subversive groups try to obtain information about government capabilities, intentions and weaknesses to help them plan false information. These groups also try to infiltrate academia and create their business empires.
In India, subversion has taken many forms over the past centuries, from ideological influence to manipulation of historical narratives and social/political movements. The routes of subversion can be traced back to British rule, which continued even after independence, and was heavily influenced by internal and external actors.
The British accentuated differences between different communities, regions, and religions. British historians like Lord Macaulay distorted the image of India by denigrating Indian heritage, education, and culture. He projected Indians as “uncivilised,” leading to a loss of self-confidence in Indian society. Post-Independence, one of the most significant influences was Marxist ideology in education and the intelligentsia.
Yuri Bezmenov worked in the Soviet Embassy in India in the late 60s. After he defected to the US in 1985, in an interview with an American filmmaker, he disclosed that he was assigned the task of suborning Indians. Huge funds, manpower, and time were used in this effort. He disclosed that it would take 15 to 20 years to demoralise a nation, as ideology takes that much time to take root. Publishers, journalists, writers, editors, actors, teachers, professors and Members of Parliament were identified for this purpose. Even in the film-making, poverty was shown as a virtue to promote socialism and Marxism. The Naxalite movement was an offshoot of such an ideological subversion. Marxist historians like Romila Thaper and Bipan Chandra downplayed India’s culture and heritage and glorified foreign influences. Mughals were shown as secular, and the British as making India “civilised”. Meanwhile, religious subversion by way of showing Hinduism full of caste discrimination led to the promotion of conversion and sectarian divisions under the guise of “social service and education”.
Other key aspects of subversion in India, besides Left-Wing Extremism, include separatist movements in Jammu & Kashmir (backed by Pakistan) and in the North East. Other subversive fronts include religious extremist Islamist groups like the Indian Mujahideen and LeT affiliates wanting to destabilise society through violence.
Western NGOs and think tanks have also been found to fund anti-India propaganda under the guise of “human rights.” Foreign entities and their supported think tanks have financed protests like the anti-CAA and Farm Laws agitation. They attempt to exploit caste, religious, and ethnic fault lines to create unrest. They misuse the judiciary, media, and bureaucracy to stall governance through frivolous PILs, biased reporting, and infiltration in educational institutions to radicalise youth, among other tactics.
Some Western think tanks, like the Open Society Foundation, have a geopolitical agenda that indirectly seeks to shape policies in India. These think tanks also engage in narrative building through “reports” and policy papers, often exaggerating or fabricating human rights violations in Kashmir, Punjab, or the North East to justify foreign intervention. Some of these think tanks have hosted pro-Khalistan and pro-Kashmir independence voices under the guise of academic freedom. They also amplify disinformation. Research papers and conferences can sometimes be used to legitimise biased claims (for example, portraying India as an authoritarian state) that align with foreign interests. Certain think tanks promote policies favouring foreign deals, climate regulations, or trade terms that may not align with India’s strategic autonomy. They also attempt to influence bureaucrats and politicians by offering fellowships, consulting roles, or sponsored trips.
On the other hand, both China and Pakistan are involved in promoting, sheltering, and funding insurgent groups in the Northeast. Insurgencies in the North East have resulted from the influence on young minds against the democratically elected governments. Both internal and external factors have played a role in this subversion. In a recent case, a U.S. scholar tried to portray the insurgency in the Northeast as the Indo-Assam, Indo-Nagaland, Indo-Mizoram, and Indo-Manipur Wars. The minds of children are subverted in madrasas in Pakistan to convert them into human bombs.
Right from 1953 when the elected Prime Minister Mossadegh in Iran was overthrown under CIA’s operations TPAJAX by instigating a public revolt to regime change in Bangladesh, subversion is being used to malign existing systems by way of mis-information, creating activist groups blaming governments for acts of violence, discrediting the policies of the govt., using judiciary to launch false cases etc.
Recent revelations indicate that USAID allegedly provided the New York-based East-West Management Institute (EWMI) with US$270 million over 15 years, with another US$90 million in the pipeline, to engineer political outcomes in several countries, including India and Bangladesh. Among EWMI’s partners in the US was billionaire of Hungarian origin George Soros’s Open Society Foundations (OSF).
Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina who was overthrown on 5 August 2024, has accused Washington of undermining her government through an extensive web of influence operations, allegedly in retaliation for her refusal to cede control of Saint Martin’s Island, in the Bay of Bengal to the US which was planning to set up an airbase there to control China.
However, currently, the primary threat is from the cyber world. Cyber operations provide strategic gains without going to war. Due to the scale of communication networks, particularly the vast audiences of social media platforms, cyber operations affect public opinion on an unprecedented scale. Allegations of election meddling targeting the 2016 US Presidential election attributed to Russia provide a contemporary example of such cyber manipulation operations.
Similar efforts by vested interests are made in India when electronic voting machines (EVMs) are repeatedly challenged. These campaigns aim to exploit social media networks to secretly manipulate voter preferences towards the party of their choice. There is also evidence showing that Cyber operations can affect critical infrastructure, causing economic disruption and achieving a temporary institutional shutdown, affecting the functioning of the government.
Threats to India
India remains under constant threat of subversion by inimical groups, both internal and external. Whether it is the so-called Khalistan movement, agitation by farmers, or protests against building dams, nuclear power plants, or mining for critical minerals, so-called NGOS and think tanks take up their causes to “safeguard heritage, cultural values and environmental protection.”
Action Required/Taken
Misinformation, disinformation, and hate speeches spread through social media try to lead to violence, exacerbating divisions and conflicts and affecting the integrity of the nation. A balance between free speech and safety and security is required. Social media platforms need to be held accountable for their posts. The human and technology resources deployed by these platforms should be asked to work towards proactively removing malware content. The national digital ecosystem requires robust fact-checking, verification, and validation. AI should be used to trace malware content.
Meanwhile, the government has already taken steps to monitor foreign funding by NGOs and think tanks under the FCRA. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have launched investigations into suspicious funding patterns against organisations like Oxfam.
Agencies have also been tasked with tracking foreign-funded research influencing Indian policies. The government also regularly issues statements contradicting biased reports from misleading think tank publications. Indigenous think tanks like the India Foundation, which provide the correct perspective, are doing a great job in this connection.
The government has also implemented the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, banning terrorist and separatist organisations. The government regularly supports the FATF to put pressure on Pakistan to curb terror financing. Military crackdown in Kashmir in the aftermath of the post-Article 370 abrogation and anti-Naxalite operations have yielded promising results. Due to data security concerns, Chinese apps like TikTok and WeChat have been banned. Indian Cyber Coordination Centres have been created to counter online threats.
Digital is an extension of the geopolitical battlefield, and ignoring social media’s weaponisation can have serious economic and security consequences. Concerted efforts need to continue through social media to curb radicalisation and the spread of extremist ideologies.
Subversion remains a persistent threat to India’s sovereignty, requiring a mix of intelligence, military, legal and social/economic strategies. A continuous effort is needed to protect the national interest.
Author Brief Bio: Shri Avadhesh Mathur retired as Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office in the year 2012. He also served in United Nations as Head of the UN Mission in North Korean (2012-2014). Currently, he is a Member of the National Security Advisory Board. During the span of almost 49 years, Shri Mathur has been closely involved in national security issues, political analysis and negotiation, conflict resolution, security sector development and strategic communication in bilateral and multilateral settings. Shri Mathur belongs to Indian Police Service (1975 batch) and has served in Indian Embassies in Belgium and Pakistan. He has been awarded medals by the President and Prime Minister of India
