In an age where data is the new oil and perception shapes reality, information warfare has emerged as the modern-day battlefield for global superpowers. While traditional wars are fought with tanks and missiles, this new warfare is executed through digital tools, media manipulation, and psychological operations. Its purpose? To undermine governments, discredit economies, and destabilize societies. For emerging powers like India, the intensity of such attacks in recent years has been a deliberate attempt to halt its rise as a global force.
The term “information warfare” encompasses the use of propaganda, cyberattacks, disinformation, and influence operations to erode trust in institutions, alter public sentiment, and derail national progress. It is often waged by elements within the so-called “deep state” — entrenched networks of intelligence, bureaucratic, and corporate power that operate beyond public scrutiny. While the Cold War had familiar tools like radio broadcasts and covert leaks, the modern battlefield is far more complex, with algorithms, social media platforms, and pliable media houses weaponized to push agendas.
India: A Target of Strategic Information Warfare
India’s growing economic and geopolitical clout has increasingly put it at odds with entrenched global powers that benefit from maintaining the status quo. Over the past few years, India has faced a barrage of targeted disinformation campaigns, largely coordinated through global media outlets, think tanks, and digital networks. These campaigns aim to paint India as unstable, regressive, or authoritarian — narratives that weaken its global standing and divert focus from its achievements.
Take, for example, the reporting on India’s handling of the Kashmir issue post-August 2019, when Article 370 was abrogated. While the Indian government made a constitutional and legal decision to integrate Jammu and Kashmir fully, many global media platforms framed the move as oppressive and authoritarian, often amplifying misinformation. The selective focus on India’s domestic policies contrasted starkly with their silence on similar issues elsewhere. The result was a narrative that painted India as a violator of human rights, diminishing its diplomatic leverage.
Another example is India’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the second wave in 2021, while the crisis was indeed severe, international coverage often crossed into sensationalism. Images of funeral pyres became symbolic tools to attack India’s governance, while similar tragedies in other countries received far less scrutiny. There was little acknowledgment of India’s monumental efforts to ramp up healthcare infrastructure or its later success in producing and distributing vaccines domestically and globally. The selective outrage was a clear attempt to erode confidence in India’s leadership.
The Role of Digital Platforms and NGOs
Social media platforms have amplified the effects of information warfare. For years, India has been a testbed for coordinated misinformation campaigns orchestrated through bot networks, fake accounts, and shadowy organizations. Reports alleging human rights abuses or “authoritarian tendencies” are often promoted by international NGOs and activist networks that claim neutrality but have opaque funding and motives.
Take the case of the farmer protests in 2020-21. While the core of the protests was legitimate and democratic, global narratives quickly escalated the issue into an international campaign against India’s sovereignty. Foreign celebrities, many of whom knew little about the intricacies of India’s agricultural reforms, were enlisted to amplify anti-India narratives. The coordinated nature of these campaigns — from viral hashtags to media blitzes — revealed the hidden hand of external actors intent on undermining India’s domestic policy-making.
Further, the recent BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi showcased how narratives can be selectively curated and weaponized. Released decades after the Gujarat riots, the timing of the documentary, its sourcing, and its focus raised questions about its agenda. In response, the Indian government rightly identified it as a colonial-era mindset still lingering in global information circles, one that seeks to question India’s legitimacy as a rising power.
Why India is Being Targeted
India is no longer the cautious, soft-spoken power it was in the 1990s. Over the last decade, its rise as the world’s fifth-largest economy and its increasing assertion on global platforms have unsettled old powers. Initiatives like the Quad alliance and leadership roles in the G20 reflect India’s geopolitical ambitions. Its push to become a hub for semiconductor manufacturing, its dominance in the pharmaceutical sector, and its lead in the digital public infrastructure space have made it a formidable competitor to older global players.
Moreover, India’s ability to balance its foreign policy — maintaining ties with the United States while strengthening its relationship with Russia — has disrupted Western strategic calculations. Such independence has made India a target of criticism, cloaked in the language of democracy and human rights.
The Deep State and Its Playbook
The so-called “deep state” in certain countries — powerful networks within intelligence agencies, think tanks, and media — has mastered the art of psychological operations. Information warfare allows these actors to operate without accountability. Reports, opinion pieces, and “studies” are often commissioned to build specific narratives against emerging powers like India.
Think of the accusations around India’s “democratic backsliding.” Reports by international indices have criticized India’s democratic status, citing selective parameters while ignoring ground realities. Such indices often rely on questionable data and anecdotal evidence, yet they are used to tarnish India’s reputation in global forums.
Fighting Back
India is beginning to fight back against this onslaught. Its recent emphasis on self-reliance (Atmanirbhar Bharat) in technology, media, and infrastructure demonstrates its understanding of the need for narrative independence. The rise of Indian-owned news platforms, digital networks, and fact-checking initiatives has helped counter false information.
Furthermore, India’s global outreach, whether through Vaccine Maitri or humanitarian aid during crises, showcases its ability to lead by example. By asserting itself as the voice of the Global South, India is creating its own information ecosystem that speaks to the needs of developing nations rather than the agendas of old powers.
The battle for perception is the battle for power. As India rises, the forces of information warfare will continue their attempts to delegitimize its achievements. Recognizing these attacks for what they are — strategic, coordinated efforts to preserve a declining world order — is the first step toward neutralizing them.
India’s future as a global leader will depend not just on economic or military strength but also on its ability to control its narrative. By combining resilience, truth, and innovation, India can ensure that its story is not written by others but by its own people.
Comments