New Delhi: India’s foreign intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing which is famously known as RAW has played a key role in ensuring the security of our country. Established in 1968 mainly to counter the influence of China, the RAW has shifted its focus over time to another area of geopolitics, especially on the activities of Pakistan’s spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). For more than five years, RAW and its agents have been engaged in covert operations.
Why was RAW formed?
Before the formation of the RAW, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) was enstrusted with the task of collecting overseas intelligence. Founded by the British Raj, the IB became India’s main agent for foreign intelligence operations after the country gained Independence.
In 1947, Sanjeevi Pillai became the IB’s first Indian Director and he tried to operate it on MI5 lines. Ge organised a small foreign intelligence operation in 1949. However, India’s debacle during its war with China in 1962 showed that the operation was ineffective. Foreign intelligence failure during the war led Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to order the formation of a dedicated foreign intelligence agency. The call for such an agency gained momentum after the India-Pakistan War in 1965 and the idea began to take concrete shape in 1966.
The RAW was formed on September 21, 1968, and Rameshwar Nath Kao, then a deputy director of the Intelligence Bureau, became the chief of India’s first foreign intelligence agency. It was entrusted with strategic external intelligence, both human and technical along with the responsibility with the Directorate-General of Military Intelligence for tactical trans-border military intelligence across the Line of Control and the international border.
What are the objectives of the RAW?
The RAW has been entrusted to monitor the political, military, economic and scientific developments in countries which can directly impact the national security of our country and can also affect the formulation of India’s foreign policy.
The RAW also keeps a tab on international public opinion and has reportedly influenced foreign governments.
Primarily, along with gathering information, the RAW has been tasked with carrying out covert operations to safeguard the national interests of our country.
The RAW gathers information on anti-terror operations and terrorists threatening the security of India.
Since the days of Kao, RAW has been credited with successfully defending the security of India on several occasions. It played a key role in India’s victory in the 1971 war with Pakistan, provided covert assistance to the African National Congress’s anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa, expanded India’s influence in Afghanistan, helped to make Sikkim a part of India in 1975 and secured India’s nuclear programmes. Since Kao’s retirement, the responsibilities and the successes of the RAW have only increased.
The RAW was formed on September 21, 1968, and Rameshwar Nath Kao, then a deputy director of the Intelligence Bureau, became the chief of India’s first foreign intelligence agency. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
