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जब आनंद जी से पहली बार मिला था तब मेरे सामने एक सहज-सरल परंतु अत्यंत ही ऊर्जादायक व्यक्ति मुख पर एक आत्मिक मुस्कान लिए हुए खड़े थे । जिस संघ सरिता का शाश्वत प्रवाह ही आज युग प्रवाह है उस प्रवाह के जीवंत प्रतिनिधि हैं अपने आनंद जी । उनके साथ जीया हुआ प्रत्येक पल एक लर्निंग लेसन ही है । एक दीर्घ काल प्रवाह आनंद जी के साथ बिता है और ये प्रवाह अभी निरंतर अपनी गति में है । कार्य को पूर्ण समर्पण से अतिउत्तम व सिद्ध रूप से करने का हठ तो दूसरी ओर कार्यकर्ताओं की संभाल करने वाले व्यक्तित्व के रूप में अपने आनंद जी की एक विशिष्ट पहचान है । जटिल से जटिल विषयों को अत्याधिक सहजता से समझाने में गुणी अपने आनंद जी ही मेरे जैसे अनेकों के अध्ययन व संगठन प्रवास के सारथी भी हैं । युवाओं के लिए एक अत्यंत तपस्वी जीवन के रूप में स्थापित व्यक्तित्व हैं अपने “आनंद जी भाईसाहब” ! कोई उनसे दूर नहीं । किसी भी व्यक्ति की कमियों को नहीं अपितु उनके भीतर निहित गुणों को उभारकर उस व्यक्ति को समाजोपयोगी बनाना ही अपने आनंद जी की प्रखरतम मेधा है । आनंद जी का जीवन मुझ जैसे अनेकों युवाओं, स्वयंसेवकों के लिए एक आदर्श जीवन है । आनंद जी का जन्मदिवस आज उन गुणों को अपने भीतर उकेरने के संकल्प को मूर्त रूप देने का भी एक शुभ दिन है । समाज के प्रति आनंद जी का समर्पण दिन प्रतिदिन और अधिक प्रखर हो यही सर्वशक्तिमान से प्रार्थना 🙏 है !

Divyansh Kala

In a strategic move in accordance with zero tolerance towards terror organisations the United States of America banned the notorious ‘The Resistance Front’ (TRF) , a proxy of Lashkar-E-Taiba . However, The Resistance Front, should not be understood only as a terrorist organisation rather it is the signal that how the terror outfits are now manoeuvring their strategies and tactics in the changing times . The strategic discourse now has shifted from conventional use of force in the conventional battlegrounds. Now, with the increasing digital footprints and decentralisation of information technology the war fronts has also decentralised . Now war no longer remains in borders, rather the human mind and the societal psyche at large have become new theatres . The terrorist organisations has understood it and they have started to evolve themselves accordingly . 

 

The emergence of Fifth Generation Warfare has forced the terrorist leadership to conduct war in a new format . The Fifth Generation Warfare is a decentralised type of warfare where the lines between the war and peace, combatants and civilians had been blurred . It’s a long term and a complex warfare . In order to defeat the enemy this warfare form takes the advantages of the social faultlines of a society by extensifying and exploiting these faultlines for sake of the purpose of the belligerent . Social Engineering, Propaganda etc are the main tools of this warfare .

 

The Resistance Front proves to be a classic study of the changing strategies of terror outfits to conduct war against their target by not directly involving in in . The terrorist leaders are now no more the conducting agents of war . Rather they have become the facilitators of war, by providing logistical and strategic support . This manoeuvre have posed a serious challenge in front of the security apparatus . 

 

The Resistance Front (TRF) was formed after the abrogation of Article 370. It initially operated as a online outfit . It’s a strategic manoeuvre by Pakistan and its state sponsored terror organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). Because in was the period when Pakistan was facing enormous pressure from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to crackdown on Terror financing modules existing within the geographical and political ambits of Pakistan . From post- 1971 war period the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI)  of Pakistan has been working on the nefarious design to bleed Bharat through thousand cuts . The formation of various terror fronts and fanning the waves of separatism through different ways such as promoting and sheltering Khalistani terrorism has been a testimony to this strategy . But in the changing scenario the formation of TRF catches the eyes of all . Many of the people may not have known it if it have doesn’t conducted the brutal killings of 26 civilians in Pahalgam of Jammu and Kashmir .The name and the way to conduct its nefarious plans has been a assertion of the fact that terror organisation have changed the module of their operations. 

 

The Resistance Front as the name suggests has infused with the notorious plan to give terrorism a indigenous face within Bharat . The new outfit was not assigned a religious name like the existing one rather in was given a name which carries a global political currency . It uses the social media platforms for the purpose of propaganda against the Bharatiya state and its civilians, radicalising the youth of Jammu and Kashmir and recruitment of cadre for carrying out lethal attacks on civilians as well as armed forces . In was formed by a Kashmiri militant Sheikh Sajjad Gul . Gul was designated as a terrorist by Bharat’s state establishment under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in 2022 . Gul was involved in the assassination of prominent Kashmiri Journalist Shujaat Bukhari and his two PSOs in 2018 . TRF portrays itself as a local resistance movement . It aligns itself with the erstwhile anti-Bharat Kashmir narratives which had once echoed in the valley during Article 370 period ! It conducts terror operations under the garb of resisting oppression by Bhartiya State , rather then engaging in outright terror activities . It applies a strategic approach where it distances itself from dreaded terror outfits like Lashkar-e-Taiba and its leader Hafiz Saeed and presents it activities as as a part of a grassroots resistance action, rather then being involved in the religious terrorism . It propagates a ideology whose notion is centred around that they are making ‘resistance’ against , what they called, the Bharat’s ‘illegal’ occupation of Kashmir . A intelligence report of 2020 indicates that the TRF’s social media handles which are aggressively campaigning against Bharat , features content which can be traced back to locations in Pakistan . The earlier version of its social media handles has been traced back to internet protocol addresses in Pakistan . In the year of 2020, when TRF perpetrated a number of attacks on our armed forces and Pakistan was accused of fomentingthese attacks so to save his country’s face, then Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan accused Bharat of trying to “find a pretext for a false flag operation” targeting his country and put emphasis on what he called as the indigenous ‘Kashmiri resistance’ . This whole exercise of Pakistan’s Prime Minister was a attempt to portray that this was a form of terrorism breaded by Bharat ! 

 

Understanding this evolved threat where the old format of terrorism was blended with the propaganda tactics, the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2023designated it as a terrorist organisation and banned it under UAPA, 1967. The notification reads “TRF is recruiting youth through online medium for furtherance of terrorist activities and has been also involved in carrying out propaganda on terror activities, recruitment of terrorists, infiltration of terrorists and smuggling of weapons and narcotics from Pakistan into Jammu  and Kashmir .” Describing the menace of psychic operations being conducted by TRF the notification further reads “TRF is involved in psychological operations on social media platforms for inciting people of Jammu and Kashmir to join terrorist outfits against the Bhartiya State .”

 

In order to understand the propaganda tactics being employed by the TRF to justify its terror one must go through its propaganda materials being disseminated by the front itself . For example on May 22, 2022 it issued a threat letter to kill the Amarnath yatra pilgrims on the ground of a false propaganda that the Amarnath yatra was being used to change the demographic patterns of the state . The letter reads “It has come to our knowledge that the fascist regime is pumping RSS Sanghis in the name of Amarnath Yatra into the valley just to disrupt the situation just there during this yatra .” It further states “ We want to make it clear if this yatra is used for political and demographic gains then we at Resistance Front will do our best to hinder such filthy schemes of Fascist Sanghi Regime.” And justifying their potential act of killing the letter reads “We will openly target any stooge who becomes a pawn of this fascist Sanghi Regime and the blood of such stooges and pawns will spell like anything everywhere from Jammu to kashmir.” Designating Bharatiya State as “Fascist”, “Sanghi” etc had a strategy to discredit the Bhartiya State among the local populace ! 

 

TRF’s narratives often emphasise the alleged human rights violations by Indian security forces, aiming to exploit grievances and rally local youth to its cause. The organization uses to frequently release statements and videos glorifying its activities and neutralised terrorists by terming hem as martyrs, using sophisticated media strategies to spread its message and recruit new members . 

The need of the hour is to understand the fact that proxy fronts like The Resistance Front poses a significant challenge in front of our security apparatus because it was a testimony of the fact that apart from conventional killings, the terror outfits, at the same time are carrying out sophisticated propaganda war against the establishment . The Bhartiya establishment although has understand this fact and it has been preparing for this new age warfare . The hour calls for the implementation of a elastic defence strategy to deal with this emerging threat in a efficient way .

Divyansh Kala

On April 22, 2025, in a cowardly and merciless attack in the Pahalgam region of Jammu and Kashmir terrorists killed 26 Indian tourists. A wave of shock, grim andanger took over the minds of the Indian citizens. The inhumane nature of the terrorists had gone to the extent that they killed the people by asking about their religion!

Since many decades, Pakistan’s strategy has been to bleed India through Thousand cuts. This nefarious and heinous attempt was also a part of this grand strategy.

In response to this heinous attack by terrorists, Indian State acted in a decisive manner within 15 days and executed a Military Operation against terrorism and its state shelter Pakistan, named ‘Operation Sindoor’.

However, this operation is different from the previous two operations in various parameters as it has laid down new rules of Deterrence and also signalled towards a shift on the new fronts of war i.e. adoption of the Fifth Generation Warfare Format. This new form of warfare blends kinetic strikes with cyber disruption, drone surveillance and psychological warfare. Prime minister Narendra Modi in his recent address to the nation has indicated towards this new form of warfare by referring it as ‘New Age Warfare’.

The combat theatre was not only tactical rather the manoeuvring front, by using the tools of fifth Generation format of warfare has been utilised by the Pakistan state and other global powers which were not in the favour of India and the formation of a new global structure under India’s leadership. State programmed Propaganda and Misinformation campaigns are the tools which were put in use to change the narrative of war and project it as anti-India amongst the Indian Civil Society also.

Today, narratives determine politics and statecraft, and narratives are determined by agendas. The recent Indo-Pak skirmish exemplifiesthis. We live in an era where information has been weaponised to create havoc in the society, with virulent forces using covert and overt propaganda outlets to further the faultlines of society or even create them where they are not prevalent ultimately effecting conflict and violence.

Propaganda And Disinformation Campaign Against India:

Just with the Pahalgam attack the Pakistan’s social media space had been converted into the breeding ground of misinformation and coordinated propaganda campaign.

Pakistan’s social media claimed the Pahalgam attack as a “false flag operation” staged by Bharat. And a number of hashtags such as #IndianFalseFlag,#PahalgamDramaExposed, #ModiExposed,#IndiaFalseFlagExposed,#IndiaFalseFlagKing had been flooding the social media just after the Pahalgam Attack. A classic example of this theory is that within 48 hours of the Pahalgam attack over 45,000 posts popped up in the social media with the #ModiExposed!

Interestingly a section of global media also amplified the Pakistan’s propaganda. The news stories and coverages after the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor has made a clear case that the foreign media without any shred of evidence enhanced an anti-India narrative.

It is pertinent that media narratives sell ideas which shape our view of reality, modify and change how we perceive the world itself. For this a strategy is used by the media outlets i.e. to frame the stories so they can suit a set narrative and if a story cannot be repurposed to fit a set narrative in the desired way, then altogether delete the news feed.

Just after the Pahalgam attack, BBC in a story titled “More than 20 killed after gunmen open firing on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir” published on April 23! Now the question is why the BBC doesn’t refer to this attack being carried out by terrorists? Why they called this brutal, inhuman massacre being carried out by gunmen? Now, is it the standard norm within the BBC fraternity to use gunmen instead of terrorist! Now let’s see the coverage of BBC on Westminster bridge attack of March 22, 2017. In a story titled “IS planned London terror attacks in 2016” published on September 4, 2017, and of October 03, 2017, titled “Westminster terror attack: Who were the victims?” In both the stories BBC claimed an attack being carried out in their homeland as terror attacks! While in case of India it referred to the attack being carried out by gunmen and a militant attack! This exposes the double standards of the so-called elite media.

Such propaganda didn’t stop here. Just after the execution of Operation SindoorBloomberg published an article on May 13 titled “Chinese Weapons Gain Credibility After Pakistan-India Conflict” wherein it took the reference of Pakistan’s claims that it shot down five Indian Fighter Jets including Rafael! This was a claim for which Pakistan even failed to provide piece of evidence! And a number of global media outlets like CNN, Al Jazeera, Reuters,France24, New York Times etc., knowingly, conceived the fake propaganda of Pakistan that undermines the strategic success of Operation Sindoor on rewriting the new rules of deterrence.

But not only foreign media some of our own so-called intellectuals and media outlets amplified the Pakistan’s voice! Just after the Pahalgam attack The Hindu published the news feed on May 07 titled “Three Indian Jets crash in J&K’s Akhnoor, Ramban and Pampore areas” and this news feed was quoted by China Daily to peddle propaganda against Indian Success! Similarly, Prof Apoorvanand of University of Delhi had written an article for Al Jazeera titled “India’s ‘new normal’ of perpetual war will damage its democracy” questioning the new India’s strategy to deal with its enemies! The best medicine for such propaganda master’s within our frontiers is to sequester them into irrelevance.

The aim of this whole well planned, targeted and coordinated propaganda campaign against India seems to create doubt on the effectiveness of Operation Sindoor, erode the trust of Indian Civil Society from our government and the military, create a perception that Indian actions are ineffective and portray India as aggressive and irresponsible.

However, the join counter-response to such coordinated propaganda by the Indian agencies and Armed forces should be applauded with full hand.The responsive fact checks done by Press information Bureau holds a significance that how to deal with this new format of warfare. The proofs being provided by our armed forces contained the propaganda and misinformation campaign of Pakistan.

With a change in the technology and rapid globalisation process, there are drastic changes across all domains of world affairs. Thus, there is a generational shift in the warfare tactics also. In this era of globalisation, it can easily be concluded that wars can be conducted without guns and explosives. A systematic, planned and coordinated misinformation campaign could be fatal if it is blended with kinetic actions of warfare. The Operation Sindoor has not only exemplified India’s success story in terms of strategic and operational success rather it also shows us that how we have fought with this new form of warfare which is elastic in its nature by giving a suitable elastic defence mechanism for the future. India not only written off the Pakistan’s propaganda being amplified by its allies rather it had messaged the world that this fight was not only between two states,but the fight was between Propaganda and Agenda.Pakistan having a propaganda to claim itself a peace-loving country and a terrorist free country and India having an agenda of making the world a just place of all to live in !

(Divyansh Kala is a columnist, based in Delhi frequently writing on issues related to National Security Policy.)

 

Divyansh Kala

Recently, during and post- Operation Sindoor, the use of the word fifth column got attention in the strategic terminology of Bharat . The Operation Sindoor also signifies the fact that the format of war is evolving . The basic difference of Operation Sindoor with the past retaliatory actions is that it blends kinetic weapons with cyber disruptions, drone surveillance and psychological-information warfare . However, with the arrest of Bhartiya Citizens such as Jyoti Malhotra and Noman Ilahi a  network of Pakistani agents working against the Bhartiya interests from within have exposed a network which in strategic terms is referred to as Fifth column . According to the Britannica dictionary Fifth Column refers to a “clandestine group or faction of subversive agents who attempt to undermine a nation’s solidarity by any means at their disposal.” The term fifth column is said to be coined during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) by the nationalist General Emilio Mola Vidal, as four of his columns moved to Madrid and Vidal referred to his militant supporters within the capital as ‘Fifth Column’. A cardinal technique of the fifth column is the infiltration of sympathisers into the entire fabric of the nation under attack and, particularly, into positions of influence. From such places, fifth-column activists exploit the fears of a people by spreading rumours and misinformation, as well as by employing the more standard techniques of espionage and sabotage.

In the changing landscape of technology and enhanced multipolarity of the world, the format of Warfare have also evolved . Now the war is not only fought in the physical battleground rather the fight is their to alter the observational context of the people of a country through means of propaganda, misinformation and disinformation campaigns . The blend of these tools of war along with social engineering provides us a unique and a new generation of war referred to as the Fifth Generation warfare (5GW) . The fifth column implements the tactics of the Fifth Generation Warfare from inside the country with the goal to erode the trust of civil society from the government and the state institutions .

The Fifth Column intends to create narratives against the state and its institutions. Today, narratives determine politics and statecraft, and narratives are determined by agendas . We live in an era where information has been weaponised to create havoc in the society, with virulent forces using covert and overt propaganda outlets to further the faultlines of society or even create them where they are not prevalent, ultimately creating conflict and violence . 

Pakistan Government and its Intelligence Agency – Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) – has been strategically conspiring to groom its assets in form of activists, bloggers, academicians, NGOs etc, inside Bharat as well as around the world to undermine the success story of Bharat .  

The case of Jyoti Malhotra presents a new form of challenge in front of the Bhartiya  intelligence agencies as well as counter intelligence strategy of Bharat  for espionage .  

Malhotra visited the pakistan high commission in New Delhi on March 28, 2024 for a Iftaar Party . Prior to this she has applied for the Pakistan visa, but was denied . During the interview she was spotted to be frequently interacting with a person named Danish (official name Ehsan-Ur-Rahim) . Danish has been alleged for spying by Bharat’s Ministry of External Affairs and was ordered for demarche . Interestingly, within two weeks of the Iftaar Party Jyoti uploaded a video on April 16, 2024 and was in Amritsar and was just about to cross the border into Pakistan, as a she got a Visa for ten days. According to police Jyoti was being groomed as an Pakistani asset and Danish has helped Jyoti to secure the Pakistani Visa . Jyoti uploaded a video just after the Pahalgam attack and blamed the Bhartiya security agencies for the lapse in vigilance . This seems to be the part of a disinformation campaign which aims to erode state credibility .

In recent years,  with the increasing digital footprints of Bharat, the foreign powers especially the ISI are attempting to strategically exploit thi emerging soft power of Bharat by targeting the tech friendly professionals with something as simple as a facebook friend request . The recent case of a senior DRDO official Pradeep Kurulkar exemplifies this fact . Kurulkar has been sent a friend request by a profile named Zara Dasgupta . This friendship has slowly evolved into a romantic relationship and Kurulkar shared some of the secrets of DRDO with her ! Thus, with the evolution in technology one can see a evolution in the espionage techniques . With the emergence of Social Media has lowered the operational and strategic barriers of espionage as now no direct contact is needed .

Similarly, Pakistan has been employing its assets in the foreign lands to create fake narratives against Bharat . This includes nourishing the NGOs, activists and also hiring lobbying firms to create narratives against Bharat . Take the example of United States Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)’s ranking of Bharat as “Country of Particular Concern” . In April 29, 2020 Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Ghazala Habib Khan and Jagtar Singh Johal, all of them have been splitting venom against Bharat at various public platforms, met USCIRF member Harrison Akins and presented a report on suppression of “Human Rights” in Kashmir . It has been alleged that various fronts of the radical Islamic organisation, Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), have been paying money to to a lobbying firm Fidelis Government Relations of Terry Allen, who had been a long time associate of Nadeem Maenza, then USCIRF Commissioner . Maenza alongwith Harrison Akins and Anurima Bhargav has been frequently appearing in the events organised by radical Islamist Groups like Jamaat-e-Islami ! In 2020, Bharat has been entitled as ‘Country of Particular Concern’ by USCIRF ! Similarly Pakistan has been funding various global institutions for highlighting the faultlines of Bharat . For example, Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI), headquartered at Islamabad, which is affiliated with the National Security Divison of Pakistan . IPRI has been sponsoring a research project on minorities in Bharat at Deikin University with a grant of $126,462 .

Thus, Pakistan have been employing Fifth Generation War tactics against Bharat, but in response to it Bharat’s strategy have been equally productive . Countering fake information through PIB factcheck during Operation Sindoor, the strategic and operational efficiency of Bharat’s Intelligence agencies in bursting the spy network in the post-Operation Sindoor period are a testimony to the fact that Bharat is ready for the new War Format . Those alleging that Modi’s diplomacy during the Operation Sindoor has been a failure have to understand that this war against terrorism have exposed the double standards of West on terrorism . Prime Minister Modi’s policy of zero tolerance against terrorism has been exemplified by the stringent diplomatic steps such as suspension of Indus Water Treaty and Bharat’s non signing of Shanghai Cooperation Organistaion’s (SCO) statement for its exclusion of condemning the inhumane Pahalgam Attack . However, the format of War towards which we are moving is a diverse format which blends kinetic as well as non kinetic tools. So there is a need for the Bharat’s security apparatus to understand this . Prime Minister Modi’s term of ‘New Age Warfare’ has been in a complete consonance with this and thus there is a need to adapt a elastic defence strategy for this New Age Warfare !

(Divyansh Kala is a columnist, based in Delhi frequently writing on issues related to National Security Policy.)