Increasingly, organs of the state are used to harass critics of the government.
Six months ago India was accused of involvement in the murder of a leader of the Khalistan movement in Canada and what followed was predictable: expulsion of diplomats from both countries, stalled trade talks and temporary stopping of visa services. But in Canada, a mood of defiance exists within the Sikh community.
This incident appears to be the tip of the iceberg as far as India’s efforts go to influence its image abroad by meddling in affairs outside its jurisdiction. Soon after the Canadian incident blew up, it was reported that the US had issued a warning about an attempt on the life of a Khalistan activist. Later, Washington indicted an Indian intelligence agent, Nikhil Gupta, for the alleged attempt to kill US citizen and Sikhs For Justice pro-Khalistan leader, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
More recently, following a detailed report by Reuters about an Indian security company named Appin that had carried out network intrusions in various countries, the owner of the firm, Rajat Khare, started issuing legal notices to outlets that had carried the yarn ordering them to take it down.
The story detailed a “hack for hire powerhouse that stole secrets from executives, politicians, military officials and wealthy elites around the globe” under the title “How an Indian startup hacked the world.” Reuters says it stands by its story and is appealing against the court order.
And in a fourth case, the Washington Post has reported that Indian officials tried to strong-arm Apple into changing a security warning about possible theft of information from iPhones used by journalists and opposition politicians. The Indians attempted to put pressure on Apple to soften the political effect of the warnings.
India appears to have used the spyware Pegasus – sold by an Israeli company, NSO Group – to spy on people it considers foes of the ruling Hindu fundamentalist Bharatiya Janata Party. There was public questioning of Apple’s technology by BJP officials – not the best qualified to make such a judgement – and private attempts to get the warnings toned down. Apple was sufficiently alarmed by the incident to issue an update that would add a means of locking down an iPhone and preventing malware from leaking any information.
What all these incidents underline is, to use the Post’s language, “the dangers facing government critics in India and the lengths to which the Modi administration will go to deflect suspicions that it has engaged in hacking against its perceived enemies, according to digital rights groups, industry workers and Indian journalists”. Increasingly, organs of the state are used to harass critics of the government.
Apple is attempting to increase the manufacture of iPhones in India and hence there is leverage aplenty for the country to use in a bid to push the company to conform to its wishes. This is the very reason why Apple has chosen to try and move manufacturing from China to other locales.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying everything within his power to win a third term in elections slated for 2024. One of his recent bids to leach off others’ glory failed when the Indian cricket team lost to Australia in the world one-day international tournament – at a venue named after Modi himself in Ahmedabad. Normally, the final of such a tournament would be held in Mumbai which has a much better pitch that offers assistance to both batsmen and bowlers.
The Indian government has been forced to take the US accusation seriously, and has offered to investigate and set up a panel to do so. But this in unlikely to be anything other than a whitewash. India is extremely sensitive about its reputation abroad and there are a good number of brown-nosing savants who will push the thesis that Mother India can do no bad, much like the claims made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the country he leads.
The Washington Post has published a series of reports about the efforts by Modi’s India to crack down on his critics, polish the country’s image and all these are well worth a read: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Sam Varghese
Sam Varghese is an Australian of Indian origin who has lived in the country for nearly 26 years. He has worked as a journalist for more than 40 years and currently writes for the tech website iTWire. He has worked for the Deccan Herald and Indian Express in India, Khaleej Times in the UAE and Daily Commercial News (now defunct) and The Age in Australia.
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