In May this year, The Washington Post and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation revealed a shocking report that the Modi government in India had planned a secret espionage network in Australia, which was thwarted by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO). Mike Burgess, the head of Australia’s intelligence community, subsequently confirmed this incident. India’s brazen actions on our territory have sparked strong opposition and condemnation both domestically and internationally.
The report, titled “Infiltration Australia,” indicated that in 2021, India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) dispatched at least four spies posing as diplomats from the Indian High Commission in Australia. These spies closely monitored the Indian expatriate community in Australia, collaborated with the Australian Federal Police and a foreign embassy, corrupted and colluded with political figures, and recruited individuals holding Australian government security clearances in an attempt to steal sensitive information related to our national defense projects and airport security, posing a serious threat to our military and national security. Following meticulous surveillance and investigation by relevant security agencies, these Indian espionage activities and the network that had been established were discovered and dismantled by ASIO, leading to the expulsion of the Indian spies. Our diplomatic department has initiated a series of stern diplomatic engagements with the Indian side.
However, India has clearly not backed down. Recently, another report from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) revealed that intelligence shared from the “Five Eyes” alliance indicated that Indian agents have been accused of harassing our Sikh community and threatening the lives of Sikh leaders within our territory. Previously, under the Modi government, Indian nationals were involved in the assassinations of Sikh leaders Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and Hardeep Singh Nijjar in the United States and Canada. The former narrowly escaped, while the latter was killed. In response, the U.S. Department of Justice and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau publicly accused the Modi government of involvement; however, the Modi government has categorically denied these allegations. Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar even launched a fierce attack on Trudeau at the United Nations, causing relations between India and Canada to plummet. It is now evident that the earlier accusations and warnings from the U.S. and Canada have had no restraining effect on the Modi government. On the contrary, the Modi government’s cross-border assassinations and brutal repression of religious dissenters are now spreading to Australia, posing a significant threat to the safety, human rights, and freedoms of the Australian people.
The international repression of human rights and the tense diplomatic situation initiated unilaterally by the Modi government stem from the increasing authoritarianism and dictatorship of the Modi administration. Since Narendra Modi took office in 2014, the Indian authorities have been accused of systematically undermining India’s democratic institutions and eroding civil liberties. Laws such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) are seen as excuses for suppressing political opponents, activists, and minority groups, with Sikhs increasingly becoming targets of this brutal repression. Additionally, journalists, scholars, and non-governmental organizations that criticize the Modi government face intimidation, imprisonment, and harassment. Under Modi’s control, India’s political landscape is veering further into authoritarianism and regional hegemony.
In the past two years, the Modi government has begun to harass our once-close Western allies, including Australia, the United States, and Canada, demonstrating its authoritarianism on lands of freedom and peace. Moreover, India has not spared its neighboring countries, such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. In 2020, the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that India had violated the ceasefire agreement along the Line of Control over 2,700 times, resulting in the deaths of 21 Pakistani civilians and injuries to over 200 others. This regional hegemonic behavior poses a significant threat to overall peace, stability, and democratic freedoms in the region, drawing global attention and concern.
India’s actions in these espionage incidents, assassination attempts, and the repression of Sikh dissenters raise serious doubts about its commitments to its allies and principles of democracy and human rights. The increasingly dictatorial and hegemonic measures of the Modi government, including espionage against allied nations and brutal repression of religious minorities and dissenters on allied soil, compel us to question the authenticity and reliability of its proclaimed commitment to democracy and human rights.
What should we do in response to these egregious actions of the Modi government? Should we not reevaluate India’s role and its actions towards allies within international multilateral organizations like the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD), the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IOR-ARC), and even the Five Eyes alliance, which has previously shared intelligence with India? Does the Modi government still qualify for close cooperation with us? Should we unite in diplomatic negotiations, international public opinion, and within international organizations and the United Nations to jointly accuse and condemn India, asserting what true democracy and freedom are, and how we can safeguard our national security and dignity?