RAW.

This is coolbert:

"Create mayhem, make it last. And leave the rest to the power of television news." - - Vikram Sood, former chief of India's Research and Analysis Wing - - commenting in the aftermath of the Mumbai terrorist atrocity!

Here, from the wiki, is the full dope on R&AW.

Research and Analysis Wing.

"Research and Analysis Wing (RAW or R&AW) is India's external intelligence agency"

Roughly analogous to the American CIA or British M16.

"the militants in the Taj and Oberoi hotels were getting details of the movement of security forces around the hotels on Wednesday night from Pakistan through satellite phones and laptops"

"The satellite phone intercepts indicated that television was being used to provide information to militants inside the hotels"

It was one of these two "child" agencies of R&AW that monitored the satellite phone link between the terrorists in Mumbai and supporters in Pakistan?

* "The Radio Research Center (RRC) is an agency under Research and Analysis Wing. RRC deals with SIGINT and allied works. Most of its work is classified."

* "The National Technical Research Organisation (NTFO) is a secret agency under the PMO in India. It is believed that it deals with imagery and communications intelligence using various platforms, including satellites."

R&AW does not exist in a vacuum! Hardly so! Consider the number of Indian intelligence agencies currently active.

List of Indian Intelligence Agencies: [thanks again to the wiki entry]

* Intelligence Bureau.
* Joint Intelligence Committee (India).
* Central Bureau of Investigation.
* Directorate of Naval Intelligence (India).
* Joint Cipher Bureau.
* Directorate of Air Intelligence (India).
* Research and Analysis Wing.
* All India Radio monitoring service.
* Defence Intelligence Agency (India).
* Directorate of Signals Intelligence.
* Defence Image Processing and Analysis Centre (DIPAC).
* Directorate of Military Intelligence (India).
* Central Economic Intelligence Bureau.
* Directorate General of Revenue Intelligence (DGRI).
* Economic Intelligence Council.

Fifteen bureaus, agencies, services, directorates, centers, committees, wings, etc.

NOT a whole lot less than what the U.S. has [sixteen to be exact]!

"Westerners" like to think of India in terms of Mahatma Gandhi, ahimsa, non-violent protest, etc. Passive, non-violent persons, not given over to aggression and the use of force under any circumstances.

"Literally speaking, ahimsa means non-violence. But to me it has much higher, infinitely higher meaning. It means that you may not offend anybody; you may not harbor uncharitable thought, even in connection with those who consider your enemies. To one who follows this doctrine, there are no enemies."

That image of India, if it ever was accurate, is now a long-gone thing of the past.

India possesses a military of considerable size, a nuclear arsenal, advanced weapons, etc. Indian history and culture has a long tradition of warfare, martial arts, para-military organizations, etc. Communal violence on a large scale, terrorism/guerrilla warfare being endemic to the Indian sub-continent, it is not surprising, at least it should not be, that the government of India has a lot of intelligence assets at the disposal of policy makers and decision makers.

The image [ahimsa] is "nice", but the reality is different!!

coolbert.