Over the past 16 years, under a one-party authoritarian and subjugated government, Bangladesh has been subjected to a well-organised and dangerous foreign intelligence influence unprecedented in our post-independence history. The principal architect of this infiltration and influence is India’s external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).
Initially based on “friendship” and regional cooperation, the relationship has evolved into a deep intelligence network that threatens Bangladesh’s national security, internal stability and strategic self-reliance. It is not merely a political disagreement, but a question of the survival of a state. Now is the time to make real and accurate decisions.
RAW’s presence in Bangladesh was not limited to the political level; Rather, it has spread to many vital levels of the military, economic, information technology, intelligence and civilian sectors. This intrusion is evident in some of the following:
Infiltration inside the defence and security forces
Indian companies were roped in as suppliers and technical consultants to build IT infrastructure for Bangladesh’s army, police, RAB, BGB and other security agencies, including the Coast Guard. In some cases, these engagements were legitimately made in the name of strategic agreements, but in reality, intelligence sources suspect that necessary configurations, software code, and possible backdoors and surveillance systems have been installed in hardware.
Of particular concern is the installation of Indian software and servers in hypersensitive sectors such as military communications, digital mapping, GPS tracking systems and surveillance drone programs. Through this, they can collect important information about the movement of troops in Bangladesh, operational planning, border surveillance, and even the reliability of the command chain.
It is also alleged that some members of the forces that had Indian training or technical assistance were later used for intelligence work at the instigation of RAW. This intrusion is not only informational, it is also a psychological control tactic, where an attempt has been made to influence the thinking of the force.
Sexpionage, Bribery and Corruption
The Bangladesh Army officer who fell into a honey trap in Delhi for the annual parade did the only thing that you should do under the circumstances: He told a superior officer what had happened. He may suffer embarrassment to his wife and a pothole in his career, and do jail time for sleeping with an Indian RAW agent.
Honey traps, the intelligence parlance for seducing and then blackmailing a target into working for you, are probably as old as sex. It was sex that persuaded the Bangladesh military officers to agree to low-quality purchase Indian-made armored vehicles and warships that broke down just after a week of arriving in Bangladesh.
Wiretapping on telecom and cyber infrastructure
Indian software firms and technology providers have been actively involved in Bangladesh’s telecommunications sector and digital infrastructure, such as government websites, citizen service portals, IT networks of law enforcement agencies, NID servers, and even the Election Commission’s database. According to experts, many of the company’s frontline business faces are RAW.
For example, some multinational IT companies in India, whose sub-contracts have implemented projects in Bangladesh, have not proven their absolute ownership and control link with RAW, but it is doubtful. Here are some of the job opportunities they get.
Access to citizen data includes mobile location, call records, voter information, birth certificates, and national identity data.
Analysing government decision-making: Monitoring internal mail, documents, and messaging.
Interference in Monitoring System: Monitoring through coordination with police traffic control, CCTV monitoring and crime database management.
This intrusion is not just technical security, but a comprehensive cyber surveillance model, through which every level of the country’s management is placed under control.
Banking, businesses and commercial espionage
Many agreements were signed between Bangladesh and India, which were publicised under the title of ‘Trade Cooperation’ or ‘Economic Partnership’, but in reality, they were unilateral and against the economic interests of Bangladesh. In many cases, Indian companies have received special concessions, duty exemptions, land allotments, tax reductions, and even political blessings, through which they penetrate the domestic market of Bangladesh and develop oligopoly or monopoly market strategies. RAW uses this economic infiltration as an ‘economic intelligence’ operation.
It influences the financing of political parties or media houses, so that an India-friendly position is created. These agreements and actions undermine Bangladesh’s economic sovereignty and jeopardise our planned development in the long run.
Infiltration inside the DGFI, NSI and police detective branches
This is the most disturbing and dangerous aspect of the whole picture. For a long time, the RAW men infiltrated the internal intelligence agencies of Bangladesh – DGFI, NSI and police intelligence branch in various ways. These include:
Appointment of local agents: Within the administration, some individuals worked for India for financial benefits, political influence or ideological reasons.
Connection to participate in the camp: For training, cultural, or business conferences, networks have been developed with intelligence members.
Stealing information in the name of cooperation: Under the guise of joint counter-terrorism agreements, secret security analysis, government reports, troop movements or internal policies have been leaked.
As a result, many important policy decisions of the Bangladesh government would have reached India in advance, which would have unilaterally passed on the strategic advantage to India.
If RAW’s activities in these four sectors are ignored, Bangladesh will not only lose its external security, but will also be a victim of an alternative regulatory structure internally, which will result in state subordination and the dissolution of national identity. It is time to identify this infiltration and carry out a clean cleansing operation through political resolve.
Covert hostility against Bangladesh
Analysing India’s behaviour, it is seen that they have adopted the strategy of establishing political blockade, internal conflict and control in the country where they have influence.
Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Myanmar and the Maldives all have the same experience. The extent and depth of their influence in Bangladesh is even greater because the old regime had surrendered itself to them.
The main objective of RAW is to keep Bangladesh politically dependent and militarily weak. Blocking Bangladesh’s possible strategic links to China, Turkey, Pakistan or the Muslim world. Establish economic occupation. Implement strategies to eliminate Islamist and nationalist politics.
To overcome this deep crisis, some urgent steps must be taken:
1. Security audits and review of information infrastructure
At present, Indian software, hardware and technological infrastructure has been used in many government offices, military headquarters, communication systems of security forces, and even information and technology-based intelligence units. In many cases, these technologies have been installed through agreements with India or through their business partners.
For this reason, it has now become necessary to conduct a complete and independent security audit. All state and military information technology networks will be examined to identify suspicious elements or potential ‘backdoors’.
It will find spyware, tracking devices or secret surveillance systems in government servers, data centers, military communication channels, etc. It will ensure the deployment of safe, domestic or friendly technologies by re-evaluating and discarding software and IT services provided by Indian or foreign companies. The audit is not just technical, but a national security survey that will lay the groundwork for rebuilding the state’s strategic capabilities.
Paralysed DGFI, NSI and Police Detectives
The impartiality and secrecy of intelligence agencies are the backbone of national security. However, during the previous government, DGFI, NSI, Police Bureau of Investigation, etc., were recruited and promoted based on political loyalty, which was taken advantage of by foreign intelligence agencies.
It is imperative to conduct a strong counter-intelligence operation, through which background screening of all intelligence agency members, foreign travel history, family connections and economic transactions will be verified. Suspects will be questioned, monitored, and, if necessary, removed and brought to trial. A new security protocol will be introduced, which will completely ban foreign contact and implement a ‘zero tolerance’ policy against occupational immorality. The government should form a high-level ‘National Counter-Intelligence Task Force’ to carry out this operation.
Formation of the National Security Council
Bangladesh has so far not effectively established a strategic and central agency to formulate national security policy. As a result, there is a lack of coordination, conflict and information confusion among the intelligence agencies. As a result, the national decision-making process is weakened. The formation of a National Security Council is the need of the hour.
The Prime Minister will head it and will include the chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force, DGFI, NSI, foreign and home secretaries and officials concerned with cyber security. The agency will analyse intelligence, set strategies, and draft national security policies.
Restructuring the Strategic Allies
Today’s monopoly on India poses a serious threat to our strategic security. So we have to find alternative sources of defence, technology and economic support. In this case, we can seek help from friendly countries.
Enhance cooperation with the US, Japan, South Korea, Australia and EU partners in defence equipment, electronic warfare technology and border management.
Exchange of military training, drone technology and strategic intelligence assistance with Turkey.
Building Islamic and regional solidarity, including Malaysia and Indonesia, and regional security and cyber cooperation. These allies will strike a new balance not only for defense but also for strategic independence.
Building a National Security Culture
The government or military alone is not enough to deal with foreign intelligence activities and influence; We need public participation and awareness. For this, a safety-awareness movement has to be built at the national level.
This program may include the introduction of an awareness curriculum on national security and patriotism in educational institutions. Regular public awareness campaigns in the media will highlight the nature of foreign interference and ways to protect the country from it. Cyber awareness campaigns aim to help people build resistance against fake news, psychological warfare, and foreign influence on social media.
The infiltration of RAW and its influence in Bangladesh is not a political propaganda or fictitious conspiracy theory; it is a reality that has been implemented in a planned manner over a long period of time. This is a bitter chapter in our history today, where the intelligence agencies of another country have fearlessly interfered in an independent state, establishing invisible control over our information, policymaking and security. This is a terrible ‘shadow rule’, which has tried to guide the entire state machinery even from behind the visible government.
This process began under the guise of friendship and cooperation—in the name of trade, technology, joint training, cultural exchanges, etc. Gradually, that ‘cooperation’ took the form of a kind of controlled influence, centered on using Bangladesh’s decision-making process for India’s strategic interests. The consequences were dire: using the country’s forces for political purposes, interfering in the electoral process, and even curbing national leadership and freedom of expression. This shadow of foreign interference is not only against the independence of the state, it also hurts the self-respect of the nation and the dreams of future generations. What is needed today is not revenge, but national purification and reconstruction.
The first step in this restructuring is to acknowledge the truth: foreign influence has infiltrated many layers of our state apparatus, and we have often deliberately ignored it. The second step is to take bold steps – to conduct a structural cleansing campaign at every level of the state, in every department, in every organisation, so that only skilled, honest and patriotic citizens can lead. This work will have to be led by the new generation – those who dream of breaking the chain, who believe in democracy, who think that Bangladesh is not the mercy of anyone, rather it is the name of an indestructible spirit earned in exchange for the blood of millions of martyrs.
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