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Research and Analysis Wing [RAW]

The Research and Analysis Wing [RAW] is India's foreign intelligence agency. RAW has
become an effective instrument of Indian national power, and has assumed a significant role in
carrying out India's domestic and foreign policies. RAW has engaged in espionage against
Pakistan and other neighboring countries. It has enjoyed the backing of successive Indian
governments in these efforts. Working directly under the Prime Minister, the structure and
operations of the Research & Analysis Wing are kept secret from Parliament.

Founded in 1968, RAW focused largely on Pakistan. Its formation was initially motivated by
reports of Pakistan supplying weapons to Sikh militants, and providing shelter and training to
guerrillas in Pakistan.

Numerous missions were assigned to RAW upon its creation. These included monitoring
political and military developments in neighboring countries that affects Indian national security.
Consequently, considerable attention is paid by RAW to Pakistan and China, countries that are
traditional rivals of India.

RAW has evolved from its origins as a part of the Intelligence Bureau to develop into India's
predominant intelligence organization. In 1968, RAW had 250 agents and a budget of Rs. 2
crore. This has expanded to a 2000 total of an estimated eight to ten thousand agents and a
budget that experts place at Rs. 1500 crore, alternately estimated at $145 million.

Pakistan has accused the Research and Analysis Wing of sponsoring sabotage in Punjab, where
RAW is alleged to have supported the Seraiki movement, providing financial support to promote
its activities in Pakistan and organizing an International Seraiki Conference in Delhi in
November-December 1993. RAW has an extensive network of agents and anti-government
elements within Pakistan, including dissident elements from various sectarian and ethnic groups
of Sindh and Punjab. Published reports in Pakistan allege that as many as 35,000 RAW agents
entered Pakistan between 1983-93, with 12,000 working in Sindh, 10,000 in Punjab, 8,000 in
North West Frontier Province and 5000 in Balochistan.

RAW has a long history of activity in Bangladesh, supporting both secular forces and the area's
Hindu minority. The involvement of RAW in East Pakistan is said to date from the 1960s, when
RAW supported Mujibur Rahman, leading up to his general election victory in 1970. RAW also
provided training and arms to the Bangladeshi freedom fighters known as Mukti Bahini. RAW's
aid was instrumental in Bangladesh's gaining independence from Pakistan in 1971.

During the course of its investigation the Jain Commission received testimony on the official
Indian support to the various Sri Lankan Tamil armed groups in Tamil Nadu. From 1981, RAW
and the Intelligence Bureau established a network of as many as 30 training bases for these
groups in India. Centers were also established at the high-security military installation of
Chakrata, near Dehra Dun, and in the Ramakrishna Puram area of New Delhi. This clandestine
support to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), some of whom were on the payroll of
RAW, was later suspended. Starting in late 1986 the Research and Analysis Wing focused
surveillance on the LTTE which was expanding ties with Tamil Nadu separatist groups. Rajiv
Gandhi sought to establish good relations with the LTTE, even after the Indian Peace Keeping
Force [IPKF] experience in Sri Lanka. But the Indian intelligence community failed to accurately
assess the character of the LTTE and its orientation India and its political leaders. The LTTE
assassination of Rajiv Gandhi was apparently motivated by fears of a possible re-induction of the
Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka and a crackdown on the LTTE network in
Tamil Nadu.

RAW was heavily criticized in 1999, following the Pakistani incursions at Kargil. Critics
accused RAW of failing to provide intelligence that could have prevented the ensuing ten-week
conflict that brought India and Pakistan to the brink of full-scale war. While the army has been
critical of the lack of information they received, RAW has pointed the finger at the politicians,
claiming they had provided all the necessary information. Most Indian officials believe that in
order to prevent another such occurrence, communication needs to be increased between the
intelligence agencies, which would require structural reform.

Most recently, RAW has gained attention for providing the US with intelligence on Al-Qaeda
and Taliban targets for the war on terrorism in Afghanistan. Maps and photographs of terrorist
training camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan, along with other evidence implicating Osama bin
Laden in terrorist attacks, were given to US intelligence officials.

***
The objectives of RAW include:

To monitor the political and military developments in adjoining countries, which have
direct bearing on India's national security and in the formulation of its foreign policy.

To seek the control and limitation of the supply of military hardware to Pakistan, mostly
from European countries, the USA and China.
The chief of the RAW is designated Secretary (Research) in the Cabinet Secretariat, which is
part of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). Most of the position's occupants have been experts on
either Pakistan or China. The head of the Research & Analysis Wing (RAW), the external
intelligence agency, enjoys greater autonomy of functioning than their counterparts in the UK
and US and has the same privileged direct access to the Prime Minister as their UK counterparts.
The control of the Cabinet Secretary over the RAW is limited to administrative and financial
matters, with very little say in operational and policy matters.
They also have the benefit of training in either US or the UK, and more recently in Israel. The
Secretary (R) reports on an administrative basis to the Cabinet Secretary, who reports to the
Prime Minister (PM). However, on a daily basis the Secretary (R) reports to the National
Security Advisor. Reporting to the Secretary (R) are: Two Special Secretaries and one Special
Director of the ARC, the Aviation Research Centre; Four Additional Secretaries, responsible for
different geographical regions; A large number (above 40) Joint Secretaries, who are the
functional heads of various desks.
The structure of the RAW is a matter of speculation, but brief overviews of the same are present
in the public domain. Attached to the HQ of RAW at Lodhi Road, New Delhi are different
regional headquarters, which have direct links to overseas stations and are headed by a
controlling officer who keeps records of different projects assigned to field officers who are
posted abroad. Intelligence is usually collected from a variety of sources by field officers and
deputy field officers; it is either pre-processed (vetted) by a senior field officer or by a desk
officer. The desk officer then passes the information to the Joint Secretary and then on to the
Additional Secretary and from there it is disseminated to the concerned end user. The Director
RAW is a member of the JIC Steering Committee and is authorized to brief the Prime Minister
should the need arise.
Some officers of the RAW are members of a specialized service, the Research and Analysis
Service (RAS), but several officers also serve on deputation from other services. The RAW has
sub-organizations like the Aviation Research Center (ARC), the Radio Research Center (RRC)
or the Electronics and Technical Service (ETS), which have considerable capacity for technical
intelligence gathering. Another important branch under the operational control of the RAW is the
Directorate General of Security (DGS). This agency has oversight over organizations like the
Special Frontier Force (SFF), the Special Services Bureau (SSB) etc... Liaison with the military
is maintained through the Military Intelligence Advisory Group and the Military Advisor to the
Director RAW.
Though the RAW is primarily intended for collecting intelligence beyond India's national
borders, it has over time come to have a strong presence in all fields of intelligence gathering.
The RAW was brought into internal security issues during the Sikkim situation, it played a role
in the events of the emergency of 1977-79, it was asked to operate in Punjab to counter-balance
the presence of the ISI (and so also in Kashmir), and the RAW has provided the security for the
India's nuclear program. Right from its formation in 18 September, 1968, R N Kao, the founding
father of RAW, picked up the best men from within government and from outside for RAW. A
combination of military, academicians, bureaucrats and policemen was a fine start for RAW
which modelled itself on the lines of CIA.

Sources and Methods

 Thanks to Ajay Paul

 Indians Hand Evidence on bin Laden to US, Herald Sun, September 17, 2001.
 The Game Of Foxes: J-K Intelligence War, Manoj Joshi Times Of India, July 16, 1994
 'Prabhakaran said he did not trust either RAW or the ministry of external affairs' N Dixit
 India has established Terrorist Training Camp in Qadian by Farooq Adil, Special Weekly
Takbeer Report December 25, 1997
  Embassy Pumped Money To US Political Race By MURALI RANGANATHAN The
Times of India [1996]
 Indian Spy Agency's `Machinations' Viewed: FBIS-NES-96-245 Islamabad THE
MUSLIM, 18 Dec 96 p 6
 Article Sees RAW Behind Bombings: FBIS-TOT-97-017-L Peshawar The Frontier Post,
4 Feb 97 p 6
 Studies Blame Indian Spies for `Terrorism': FBIS-NES-95-048 Islamabad THE NEWS 12
Mar 95 p 11

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Updated July 26, 2002