RAW Full Form Name
Full
Form of RAW :
Research
and Analysis Wing
RAW
Full Form is Research and Analysis Wing. It
is an Indian Intelligence agency created in 1968. The primary objective of RAW
was to counter the influence of China which eventually shifted focus on
Pakistan. Ever since its inception, RAW has expanded its authority in the
subcontinent. It is said to have increased India’s influence overseas to a
great extent.
The
policies and role of RAW has varied under various prime ministers. RAW is also
said to have contributed to (1) The formation of Bangladesh, (2) India’s
influence over Afghanistan, (3) Nuclear program of India and its security, (4)
A successful African Liberation Movement during cold war, etc. Other objectives
RAW include monitoring the military and political developments in the adjoining
nations.
RAW
Full Form – Additional Information
Anyone
in India would be familiar with the Research & Analysis Wing which is
basically the premier foreign intelligence organization of the country, dedicated
primarily to gathering and analysis of foreign intelligence. The agency was
founded in the year 1968.
The
object behind the establishment of the agency was to prevent failures that
emerged due to the Indo-Pak wars and Sino-India war, which highlighted many
intelligence glitches and failures. The failures compelled the then government
of India to come up with an advanced and independent agency that will
effectively carry out the task of foreign intelligence collection and will
prevent such tragedies, which could have been avoided.
The
primary functions of the agency, as already mentioned in the above paragraph,
are a collection of foreign intelligence, counter-terrorism, and promotion of
counter-proliferation. Besides these, the agency is actively engaged in the
nuclear program of the country and provides advice to policymakers of the
country. RAW is one of the most acknowledged intelligence agencies of the
country and is regarded as an instrumental one by many foreign jurisdictions.
It is the face of the national power of India.
The
agency is headquartered at the capital city of the country, New Delhi. As far
as reporting of the agency is concerned, it is different from that of the
United States of America and the United Kingdom. In India, the agency directly
reports to the Prime Minister, not to the Ministry of Defense. The
aforementioned paragraphs highlight only some of the introductory aspects of
RAW and thus, there is a need to explore more about this organization, which
define its existence and relevance in and outside India. Here are five facts
about RAW that you must know of:
History
behind the establishment of RAW
Before
the foundation of the RAW, the responsibility of collecting foreign
intelligence and analyzing it was upon the Intelligence Bureau (abbreviated as
IB). However, eventually, the powers and extent of the scope of IB increased.
Post-independence, the IB started showing problems in handling foreign
intelligence as it was tasked with other responsibilities. This eventually led
to the Indo-Pak and Sino-India debacles, which were primarily consequences of
intelligence failures on the part of Indian agencies.
During
the Indira Gandhi regime, a decision to establish an independent agency tasked
with collection and analysis of foreign intelligence was reached. The agency
commenced its operation as a part of the Intelligence Bureau, with about 250
employees. Eventually, the agency became independent and started coming up with
child agencies like the Electronics & Tech Services and The Radio Research
Center. In the year 2004, another agency came under the control of RAW, the
National Technical Facilities Organization (abbreviated as NTFO). The name of
this agency was later changed to National Technical Research Organization
(NTRO). The exact character of the operations of NTRO is not clear.
The
Joint Intelligence Committee (abbreviated as JIC) has been established with the
purpose of coordinating activities between the Intelligence Bureau, the Defence
Intelligence Agency (abbreviated as DIA), and the RAW. The effectiveness of the
JIC is not certain and has received mixed reviews. Even the status of RAW is
also unusual, as it is a Wing, not the Agency, of the Cabinet Secretariat. It
is because of this reason, the RAW is not covered under the Right to
Information Act, 2005 vide section 24, which is read with the Schedule II of
the same Act. This has resulted in many controversies, as RAW is often accused
of concealing information pertaining to human rights abuse and corruption, and
whatnot.
Objectives
of the RAW
The
following are some of the objectives of the RAW:
- It is aimed at monitoring the
military, political, economic, and scientific developments in many
countries that are critical to the national security of the country.
- To help policymakers in the
formulation of an effective, workable, and strong foreign policy.
- To organize secret missions for
the purposes of collection of foreign intelligence.
- To conduct anti-terror
operations.
The
primary objective of RAW nevertheless remains to prevent the occurrence of any
tragedy like that of indo-Pak and Sino-Indo wars, which exposed the weak side
of India’s intelligence set up.
Recruitment
in RAW
Earlier,
RAW made direct recruitments into its organization. These persons came from the
Intelligence Bureau, police, military, and the Indian Revenue Services
(abbreviated as IRS). Eventually, RAW started recruiting from various
universities. This exposed the growing nepotism, which compelled the
organization to create a service cadre, known as the Research and Analysis
Service (abbreviated as RAS), to recruit persons from Group A Civil Services
from the Central Staffing Scheme. There is the direct recruitment of Civil
services officers, who are undertaking foundation courseware in the Lal Bahadur
Shastri National Academy of Administration. When the course is finished, an
interview follows. There is also recruitment by a deputation from Armed Forces
or the Group A Civil Services.
Training
in RAW
RAW
is an important organization for national security and therefore, a rigorous
training framework exists. The basic training commences with a ten days phase
where the inductee would be introduced to the world of spying and intelligence
and a special emphasis is made in doing away with fictional stereotypes that
prevail about espionage and intelligence. This is followed by lessons on the
classification of intelligence information, tradecraft techniques, economic
analysis, information security, scientific information, space technology, and
energy security.
The
inductees are given lessons on foreign language and Geo-Strategic analysis.
Along with these lessons, the inductees are given case studies on prominent
international investigative agencies such as Mossad, MI6, CIA, etc. Basic
classroom lessons are given at the Training and Language Institute that is
situated in Gurgaon. After having finished basic training, the inductees are
allotted a Field Intelligence Bureau (FIB).
The
training would generally last for one-two years. During this period, the
inductee is given lessons on secret missions and simulated cold, night drills,
exfiltration, infiltration, interrogation, etc. Many other skills are taught
that are essential for an RAW agent. At the Indian Military Academy situated in
Dehradun, the inductees are given field training. The training framework is
subject to many criticisms for being outmoded and police-centric.
Operations
conducted by RAW
RAW
is known for the conduct of some of the biggest operations in the country and
abroad. Some of them have been listed below:
- Operation Smiling Buddha: It is the name that was given to the Nuclear program
of India. It is the first operation where RAW was engaged within India.
- Operation Lal Dora: The name was given to the operation when the Prime
Minister of Mauritius Anerood Jugnauth sought help from the then Prime
Minister, Indira Gandhi, on the eve of a coup by Berenger.
- Operation Cactus: In the year 1988, the invasion of Maldives by the
People’s Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (abbreviated as PLOTE)
occurred. On request by Muamoon Gayoom, the then President of Maldives,
RAW was engaged for providing assistance.
- Kargil War: RAW was engaged during Kargil war and received a lot
of criticisms. RAW failed to collect adequate intelligence that could have
stalled the Kargil War. The operations greatly tarnished the image of the
agency.