India’s rise as a global space power has largely been driven by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), whose achievements, from launching cost-effective satellites to successfully reaching the Moon, Mars and the Sun, have earned worldwide recognition. Now, the country’s private space sector has scripted a milestone of its own. On Saturday, 18th July, Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace made the maiden orbital flight of Vikram-1, India’s first privately developed orbital launch vehicle, marking what could become a defining moment in the evolution of India’s commercial space ecosystem.
The four-stage launch vehicle lifted off at 11:30 am from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota under Mission Aagaman. With the liftoff successful, Skyroot Aerospace has become the first Indian private company to place payloads into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) using a launch vehicle designed and built independently. The mission also represents a major milestone since the Centre opened India’s space sector to private participation in 2020.
We'll be going live for India's first private orbital launch. 🚀
Watch Vikram-1's Test Flight-1 — Mission Aagaman — live on YouTube today.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the launch as “a historic new frontier for India’s space journey.” In a post on X, he wrote, “At 11:30 AM today, Skyroot Aerospace will undertake the maiden orbital launch of Vikram-1, India’s first privately developed launch vehicle. This four-stage rocket is designed to provide rapid and on-demand launch services.”
Highlighting the significance of the mission, the Prime Minister said it showcased the talent and entrepreneurial spirit of India’s youth and reflected the success of India’s space sector reforms. “My best wishes to the entire Skyroot Aerospace team for a successful launch. May Vikram-1 soar high, create history and inspire a generation of innovators,” he added while urging citizens to follow the mission using the hashtag #IndiaWithVikram1.
A historic new frontier for India’s space journey!
At 11:30 AM today, Skyroot Aerospace will undertake the maiden orbital launch of Vikram-1, India’s first privately developed launch vehicle.
This four-stage rocket is designed to provide rapid and on-demand launch services.… pic.twitter.com/1qFVTwNOuZ
Former ISRO Chairman S. Somanath also congratulated the company, describing the mission as much more than a rocket launch. “This is far more than the maiden orbital flight of a rocket; it marks the arrival of India’s private rocket-building capability,” he said, calling it a landmark moment for the country’s growing commercial space industry.
Skyroot Aerospace: The startup aiming to become India’s ‘cab service to space’
Founded in 2018, Skyroot Aerospace has rapidly emerged as the face of India’s private space revolution. The Hyderabad-based company recently became India’s first space-tech unicorn after crossing a valuation of $1.1 billion, making it the country’s most valuable private space startup.
The company was established by Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka, both former ISRO engineers who left the national space agency with the vision of building India’s first private orbital launch vehicles. At a time when only government agencies were allowed to undertake space launches, the duo believed India possessed both the engineering talent and manufacturing ecosystem needed to compete globally in the small satellite launch market.
Image via IndiaToday
Skyroot’s larger vision goes beyond simply launching rockets. The company wants to offer dedicated launch services for small satellites, allowing customers to book missions based on their own timelines and orbital requirements rather than waiting months or years for a launch aboard larger launch vehicles.
Explaining the idea, co-founder and CEO Pawan Chandana compared the company’s business model to ride-hailing services.
“If you want to just go to a friend’s house, you don’t need a train; you book a cab, an Uber. What we are offering is a cab service to space, which can be used to ride to a unique location in orbit to place a satellite or visit a station,” Chandana toldthe BBC.
He noted that satellite operators today often face long waiting periods before securing launch opportunities, and Skyroot aims to reduce that bottleneck through dedicated, on-demand launch services.
From two ISRO engineers to India’s first space-tech unicorn
The story of Skyroot Aerospace began inside ISRO itself.
Both Chandana and Bharath Daka worked on India’s heavy-lift launch vehicle programme, which eventually evolved into the LVM3, the rocket that later carried the Chandrayaan-3 mission to the Moon.
While working on the programme, the two engineers closely followed developments in the global private space industry, particularly companies such as Rocket Lab, which demonstrated that private firms could successfully develop and operate orbital launch vehicles.
Inspired by these developments, the duo left ISRO in 2018 and founded Skyroot Aerospace with the goal of developing launch vehicles specifically designed for small satellite missions.
Their timing proved significant. In 2020, the Government of India announced sweeping reforms opening the country’s space sector to private companies, allowing them to build rockets and satellites while accessing ISRO’s launch infrastructure through the newly created regulatory framework.
The reforms triggered an explosion in India’s commercial space ecosystem. According to IN-SPACe, the number of Indian space startups has grown from fewer than half a dozen before the reforms to more than 400 startups today.
Skyroot was also the first private Indian company to launch a rocket when it successfully flew the Vikram-S suborbital launch vehicle in November 2022. The mission validated several indigenous technologies and laid the foundation for the company’s orbital launch ambitions.
Today, Skyroot operates from its massive Infinity Campus and Max-Q manufacturing facility in Hyderabad, where nearly 1,000 employees work across three shifts. The company aims to manufacture one rocket every month, with a long-term goal of integrating and preparing a launch vehicle for flight within 72 hours of demand.
Vikram-1: The rocket that created history
Named after Dr Vikram Sarabhai, regarded as the father of India’s space programme, Vikram-1 is a 24-metre-tall, four-stage launch vehicle built primarily using lightweight carbon-composite materials.
The rocket employs solid-fuel propulsion during its first three stages, followed by a liquid-fuel orbital adjustment module that enables precise satellite deployment. It is capable of placing payloads weighing up to 350 kilograms into a 450-kilometre Low Earth Orbit.
#WATCH | Andhra Pradesh: Visuals from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota; India's first privately developed orbital-class rocket, Vikram-1, will be launched from here shortly
Built by Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace, Vikram-1 is powered by three solid-fuel stages… pic.twitter.com/f0ch6KvahX
Mission Aagaman carried multiple technology demonstration payloads from Indian and international customers, including Grahaa Space, Cosmoserve, DCubed and Skyroot’s own SCOPE platform.
Among the most talked-about payloads are Bengaluru-based Cosmos Diamonds’ “Diamond Lotus”, a micro-art installation paying tribute to India’s creativity, and miniature sculptures honouring Dr Vikram Sarabhai, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Nobel laureate Sir C.V. Raman.
The mission also carried a handwritten postcard by Prime Minister Narendra Modi bearing the message “Vande Mataram,” alongside handwritten notes from Indian scientists, engineers and astronauts.
Apart from demonstrating payload deployment, the mission will validate Vikram-1’s guidance, navigation and flight systems while generating engineering data that will help refine the rocket ahead of future commercial launches.
Looking beyond Mission Aagaman
For Skyroot Aerospace, Mission Aagaman represents only the beginning. The company plans to conduct another test flight before entering commercial operations, after which it intends to provide dedicated launch services for customers from India and abroad.
The startup is already developing Vikram-II, a more powerful launch vehicle capable of carrying heavier payloads into higher orbits. In the long run, the company also hopes to explore reusable launch vehicle technologies similar to those pioneered by companies such as SpaceX.
As India prepares for ambitious missions, including Gaganyaan, an Indian space station by 2035 and a crewed lunar mission by 2040, companies like Skyroot are expected to complement ISRO by handling a growing share of commercial satellite launches.
Whether Mission Aagaman achieves all of its objectives or not, Vikram-1 already represents a watershed moment for India’s private space industry. Seven years after two ISRO engineers left secure government careers to pursue an ambitious dream, Skyroot Aerospace now stands on the launchpad, ready to test whether India’s next great leap into space can come not only from a government agency but also from a homegrown private enterprise.
On Saturday (18th July) morning, the Delhi police removed ‘activist’ Sonam Wangchuk from Jantar Mantar and took him to Delhi’s Safdurjung hospital. The development comes after 20 days of his ‘indefinite’ hunger strike aimed at holding the State to ransom.
The Delhi police’s action follows the directive of the Delhi High Court, which called for daily medical monitoring and necessary medical intervention if required.
In a statement, the official X handle of DCP (New Delhi) stated, “As per orders of Hon’ble High Court and on expert medical advise due to the deteriorating health condition of Sh. Sonam Wangchuk, he has been shifted to the hospital for essential medical care.”
As per orders of Hon’ble High Court and on expert medical advise due to the deteriorating health condition of Sh. Sonam Wangchuk, he has been shifted to the hospital for essential medical care. While complying with the orders of Hon’ble High Court the protestors tried to create…
“While complying with the orders of Hon’ble High Court the protestors tried to create obstruction, in which slight commotion ensued, however police took maximum restrain and undertook the exercise safely. We request the protestors at Jantar Mantar to peacefully vacate the place at the earliest,” it emphasised.
Coincidentally, a decorated IPS officer named Anurag Sharma (who previously served in India’s Intelligence Bureau) was appointed the new Police Commissioner of Delhi on Friday (17th July).
Disinformation peddled by Cockroach Janta Party about Sonam Wangchuk
Soon after the Delhi police escorted Sonam Wangchuk to the hospital, members of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) began peddling disinformation to incite the public.
Controversial CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka claimed that the cops had ‘arrested’ Sonam Wangchuk.
“Sonam Wangchuk has been forcefully detained and arrested. All roads leading to Jantar Mantar have been closed…The Delhi police have shown their true colours. It is not the time now to stay silent,” Ranka was heard saying in a video.
Delhi police has picked up @Wangchuk66 and beaten Dipke.
The official X handle of the Cockroach Janta Party went on to claim that Sonam Wangchuk has been ‘abducted’ by the Delhi police.
Sonam Sir’s Reaction on Hospitalisation.
Yesterday, when government doctors tried to hospitalise him, this was Sonam Sir’s reaction.
The government has forcefully abducted Sonam Sir without his or his family’s consent. pic.twitter.com/ZLTvT0g0oe
— Cockroach is Back (@Cockroachisback) July 18, 2026
With the ulterior motive to create mass panic, CJP spokesperson Saurav Das alleged that ‘activist’ Sonam Wangchuk was taken to an ‘unknown location.’
Screengrab of the tweet by Saurav Das
Abhijeet Dipke plays victim card
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) member turned CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke seized the opportunity to peddle fake victimhood.
First, he claimed that people were being beaten at Jantar Mantar and that Sonam Wangchuk was being taken away forcefully.
A while later, Abhijeet Dipke tweeted, “I have (been) beaten and put under detention by the Delhi police.” It remains unclear how he managed to tweet about it during his alleged detention.
If you are actively being "beaten up and detained" by the police, the last thing you're doing is opening X to post grammatically broken updates for engagement metrics. Dipke and the #CJP have been desperately waiting for a physical confrontation to revive their dying protest… pic.twitter.com/jGakSWcDIv
The ‘detained’ CJP founder also managed to talk to the press and claim, “At 7 AM, when I stepped out to freshen up, police goons arrived here. They dragged Sonam Sir away while hurling abuse at him.”
He continued to lie, “We have no idea where they have taken him.” Abhijeet Dipke reiterated the unverified claim that he was assaulted while branding Delhi cops as ‘RSS goons.’
#WATCH | Delhi: Founding President of the Cockroach Janta Party, Abhijeet Dipke says, "At 7 AM, when I stepped out to freshen up, police goons arrived here. They dragged Sonam Sir away while hurling abuse at him. A 60-year-old man, who had been on a hunger strike for 20 days and… pic.twitter.com/Z21kIV68sd
He brazened out, “When I received the news and was on my way to Jantar Mantar from my friend’s house, the police assaulted me as well…These aren’t police officers; they are RSS goons. I had returned to my country from abroad; am I a criminal? They are goons—not police, but RSS goons…”
Another thing which became crystal clear from the entire saga was how Abhijeet Dipke would abandon Sonam Wangchuk at night. While visuals of the CJP founder eating (while sitting next to the activist on ‘hunger strike) had drawn flak, it has now emerged that Dipke doesn’t even sleep at Jantar Mantar.
From his own admission of being at a friend’s house to the tweet of CJP spokesperson Saurav Das, it becomes clear that Abhijeet Dipke stayed at a location far away from the protest site at Jantar Mantar.
#BREAKING: The Delhi Police has stopped Abhijeet Dipke where he was staying. People are telling me that Sonam Wangchuk is being picked up from the protest site. Students are being lathicharged! pic.twitter.com/kkKtSI83hO
While the protest at Jantar Mantar initially started against the NEET paper leak, it had taken a sharp turn from the original objective to demands of ‘Meri Ling, meri Marzi’ and whatnot. ‘Activist’ Sonam Wangchuk is on a hunger strike for 20 days, demanding resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan.
While this demand is far from being fulfilled, it has now escalated to fantasing about the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Narendra Modi ji must resign!
— Cockroach Janta Party (@CJP_for_India) July 18, 2026
An helpless Abhijeet Dipke, who has been feasting all these days, has now declared that he is going on an ‘indefinite’ hunger strike.
I am starting an indefinite hunger strike beginning right now.
In the meantime, the Cockroach Janta Party has announced that it will carry out its pre-planned march to the Parliament building on 20th July, which is expected to be marked with chaos and unrest
It claims that more than 1.5 lakh students and supporters have already registered with them via missed calls and online campaigns to join the protest march.
The hospitalisation of Sonam Wangchuk has given fresh ammunition to CJPn spokespersons, supporters and their funders to incite violence on the streets. Their rhetoric has shifted radically from peaceful march to calls for physical confrontation.
A political spectacle has been unfolding at Jantar Mantar for several days under the pretence of a youth protest. The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founded by Abhijeet Dipke, has been leading this demonstration allegedly to safeguard the future of Indian students and to seek accountability from the central government regarding multiple lapses in the education system, including paper leaks.
However, the spotlight has been primarily on Sonam Wangchuk, who is on a hunger strike in support of the aforementioned submissions. He has been on a water-only fast since 28th June. Hence, the usual suspects, including the CJP, which is reportedly associated with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), other opposition parties and their entire ecosystem, are attempting to portray him as a hero for a cause that casts the Modi government as the antagonist. However, they have all intentionally ignored a crucial question.
What constructive solutions, alternative proposals, or viable criticisms is he offering? It is true that the government must be scrutinised for its shortcomings, especially regarding the nation’s future. Nevertheless, these challenges are neither novel nor unprecedented. It is a systemic issue that requires a thorough and careful approach, devoid of political theatrics and genuinely focused on the students without any vested intentions or goals. However, this does not seem to apply to Wangchuk, who has a notably controversial history.
There has been an evidently orchestrated effort of false glorification rather than inquiring clarity on his roadmap to tackle the problems endured by students, or what he can actually contribute to their settlement. Wangchuk, the son of a late Congress MLA, has recently been proclaimed the real-life embodiment of Phunsukh Wangdu from Rajkumar Hirani’s movie 3 Idiots despite his own earlier statement to the contrary. Furthermore, the filmmaker and Amir Khan, who took on the role, also confirmed that their movie was not inspired by Wangchuk’s life.
When Leh burned amid Wangchuk’s hunger strike
The gravity of the difficulties related to students has been reduced to mockery, political stunts and an obvious farce. However, this seems to be a recurring theme with Wangchuk, who has also employed similar methods previously. He initiated a hunger strike in Leh to demand statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution last September.
However, he had to be arrested under the National Security Act (NSA) as deadly protests erupted in which the local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) office was torched, and 4 people died while many others were wounded.
“We arrested a Pakistan PIO (Pakistan Intelligence Operative) in the recent past who was reporting back across. We have a record of this. Wanghchuk had attended a Dawn event in Pakistan. He also visited Bangladesh. So, there is a big question mark on him. Investigation is being done,” revealed SD Singh Jamwal, who was Ladakh’s Director General of Police (DGP) at the time.
He highlighted that his protest platform created an environment conducive to violence, which was planned and coordinated in advance. He added, “Wangchuk has had a history of instigating. He has referred to the Arab Spring, Nepal and Bangladesh. The investigation into his funding is going on for FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act) violation.”
“Wangchuk had been indulging in activities prejudicial to the Security of the State, Maintenance of Public Order and Services essential to the community, as mentioned in the grounds of detention. I was satisfied and continue to be satisfied with the detention of the detainee,” District Magistrate of Leh had informed the Supreme Court.
The Ministry of Home Affairs also pointed out how he continued his hunger strike in spite of repeated appeals from fellow leaders, akin to his present adamancy and “misled the public by making incendiary references to protests similar to the Arab Spring and Gen Z protests in Nepal.” Wangchuk was eventually released from Jodhpur jail after 170 days in March.
His actions are a clear reflection of his agenda and even serve as a potential warning of what might lie ahead.
There was Irom Sharmila before Sonam Wangchuk
While supporters of Wangchuk are mistakenly likening him to fictional movie characters and even to the hunger strike of Anna Hazare, there exists a remarkably similar figure who engaged in such tactics to exert pressure on New Delhi for 16 years. Her name is Irom Sharmila Chanu, and she is from Manipur.
On 5th November 2000, the Assam Rifles shot dead 10 civilians at a bus stop in Malom following a bomb attack by assailants that targeted a nearby paramilitary convoy. This tragedy was utilised by Irom as a platform to embark on a political charade that lasted for 16 years.
She refused to eat and commenced a hunger strike against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in the sensitive state that has experienced decades of violent insurgencies, deeply impacting both civilians and security personnel. Her aim was to urge the central government to repeal the law, which is important for maintaining public order and peace in such regions.
However, both the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) led by the Bharatiya Janata Party and the United Progressive Alliance headed by the Indian National Congress governments refused to buy into her ploy, which would have threatened regional security and stability as well as increased cross-border militancy and ethnic tensions.
Certainly, no individual can endure even a few weeks without any sustenance. Therefore, a nasogastric tube was inserted into Irom’s nose to feed her. Interestingly, these tubes can be self-dislodged, but a narrative was created around how the government was “force-feeding” her to exalt her agitation.
Of course, this would not have reached such a point, but Irom exploited an indispensable subject to construct her public image which she later used to set her unsuccessful political career, handing a prime opportunity to global anti-India forces to intervene in its affairs.
Anyone who believes that Irom Sharmila’s fasting was genuine, needs a reality check. The Ryles tube is ridiculously easy to remove. Patients with both hands tied to the bed have managed to do it. But somehow it was “forced” on her for a dozen years without any restraints. https://t.co/ijjeAzzvA8
It is noteworthy that the special laws and provisions are imposed based on the circumstances present in particular regions. The changes in these ground realities have also led to the gradual removal of special acts over time under the Modi government. AFSPA has been considerably rolled back throughout the northeast, attributed to improved security and a substantial decrease in insurgency incidents. It has been completely rescinded in Tripura and Meghalaya, while its enforcement has been confined to particular districts and police stations in Assam, Nagaland, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.
However, Irom’s performative activism, which strayed significantly from the facts, persisted as she tirelessly endeavoured to make the Indian state acquiesce to her wishes. However, all facades eventually conclude sooner or later and hers was no exception after it paved the way for her political debut.
On 9th August 2016, she ended her hunger strike and stepped into the political area. She established “People’s Resurgence and Justice Alliance” (PRJA) and participated in the 2017 Manipur Legislative Assembly elections from the Thoubal constituency, where she faced off against former Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh.
The 54-year-old popular as the “Iron Lady of Manipur” was only able to secure 90 votes, as her aspiration to become a legislator encountered a substantial blow just a few months later in March 2017. During the campaign, she had declared her intention to run in the 2019 general elections if she did not succeed, but afterwards asserted that she was “fed up with this political system” and then exited active politics. She is married to a British national and lives a quiet life with him and their twin daughters in Bengaluru.
Conclusion
Irom’s pursuit for relevance culminated in a jarring realisation of a failed political career and Wangchuk is apparently on a similar mission to continuously grab the headlines. Otherwise, he might have begun a constructive dialogue or at least provided a positive direction to deal with the difficulties brought forth by students. However, he chose to side with CJP and turn a student matter into a political one, generating controversy and redirecting the attention that should have been on those genuinely impacted towards himself.
Wangchuk’s showmanship has only complicated the matter that should have been between the government and the students and resolved amicably without any politicisation, but it has now been reduced to one man and his shenanigans. Moreover, the sincerity of the protest has been illustrated after CJP leaders, including Dipke, were caught relishing pakodas, kachoris and other snacks while he continues to fast in their company.
China has long faced accusations of meddling in and influencing elections in key democracies through various means. The Trump administration in the US has declassified and publicised several intelligence and law enforcement documents from 2020, alleging that China acquired 200 million American voter data and exploited vulnerabilities in the US election system to influence the poll in Joe Biden’s favour.
China acquired and exploited American voter data: Trump makes explosive claims citing declassified files, orders probe
In a nationally televised address on 16th July 2026, US President Donald Trump called the disclosures vulnerabilities in America’s election infrastructure, and called for a probe into why the intelligence inputs flagging the Chinese election interference manoeuvres were allegedly withheld or suppressed during his first term.
“Tonight, I’m announcing the immediate declassification and release of critical intelligence, revealing shocking vulnerabilities in our election infrastructure. This evidence shows that the election system we have dangerously exposes and really exposes, like levels never thought possible, to hacking, exploitation, and foreign interference. Just as disturbingly, this vital information has for many years been covered up and hidden from you, the American people,” President Trump said.
US President Donald Trump: Newly declassified documents show that over a period of years starting during the 2020 election cycle, the People’s Republic of China carried out what is believed to be the largest compromise of election data in history — resulting in China’s illicit…
In addition to accusing the US intelligence community of suppressing information on China’s alleged election interference activities aimed at ensuring Trump’s defeat, the US President directed the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to launch an investigation into why the information was allegedly withheld.
“But that all changes right now. The documents we will release starting tonight have been gathered by the White House Government Transparency Task Force, a great group of people, along with the staff of the president’s Intelligence Advisory Board, supported by our top intelligence agency chiefs who have all personally reviewed the findings we are presenting this evening and fully confirmed their authenticity,” Trump stated.
Trump claimed that the declassified and publicised documents cover five key areas of concern. He claimed that during the 2020 election cycle, China carried out what is believed to be the largest compromise of election data in history, resulting in China’s illicit acquisition of 220 million US voter files.
This data included names, addresses, phone numbers, political party preferences and other sensitive data that “would be needed to register to vote and engage in other nefarious activities…”
Calling the supposed data loss an “unprecedented election security nightmare”, Trump cited intelligence to claim that China assigned a data exploitation unit specifically to this new project.
The second set of documents released on Thursday is reported to reveal that members of the Deep State in the American intelligence agency “worked to actively suppress and downplay information about the extent of China’s sinister election meddling, covering it up from both the president and the American people as nobody thought was possible.”
Citing the declassified memos, Trump alleged that in 2020, tens of millions of voter data across 18 states were bought, stolen or hacked by China.
“They did not disclose to me as president or to anyone else. And to the best of our knowledge, they did not inform Congress. In fact, all they kept saying is, this is the most secure election in the history of our country — a standard, very pat line that was divvied out to say,” he said.
The declassified files indicate that Chinese intelligence officials analysed multiple datasets related to the US states registration from around April 2020 onward. A zip file released by the White House includes several declassified memos referencing access or compromise of voter registration files.
One of the released documents mentions that in August 2020, the Chinese government had produced massive fake US drivers’ licenses and had them exported secretly to the US. These counterfeit driving licenses allowed “tens of thousands of Chinese students and immigrants sympathetic to the Chinese Communist Party to vote for US Presidential Candidate USPER Joe ((Biden)), despite not being eligible to vote in the United States.”
“China had collected private US user data from millions of TikTok accounts, to include name, ID and address, which would allow the Chinese government to use real US persons’ information to create the fraudulent driver’s license. The fraudulent driver’s licenses were to include true ID number and true address of US citizens, making them difficult to detect. China planned to use the fraudulent driver’s licenses to account for tens of thousands of mail-in votes,” a declassified document reads.
The declassified documents reveal that China had allegedly developed capabilities to push its own narrative on various mainstream issues, including fuelling anti-government discontentment among immigrants in the US and inciting the Black Lives Matter Movement, through social media platforms like TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and others, in addition to mainstream media via influencers and journalists and other CCP-cultivated assets.
“The Chinese government sought to identify US journalists who had reported negatively on the US president and pay them large sums of money to write more negative articles about him,” President Trump said, although he did not name any such ‘compromised’ journalists.
The CCP analysed and picked America’s internal issues that could be exploited to sow divisions or widen existing fissures. The documents indicate that China used its assets in the US and social media propaganda to incite migrant community dissatisfaction with the US government, instigate anti-government protests over alleged human rights violations, inflame resentment between anti-immigrant and pro-immigrant communities, and instigate anti-immigration demonstrations.
China also allegedly incited racial tensions by peddling a narrative that the White House under Trump hated black people. The CCP instigated demonstrations and marches as evidence of racial divides. China also floated a narrative that the US government and law enforcement establishment had fundamental disagreements.
The files also cover other key topics like non-citizen registrations identified in some state rolls. As per the White House, the declassified documents indicate that the Department of Homeland Security opines that at least 250,000 non-citizens were on the voter rolls in several key states.
Overall, the Trump administration believes that declassified and publicised documents indicate that China may not have directly altered ballots (although Trump cited the FBI’s 2020 “raw intelligence” to claim that China attempted to manufacture ballots for Joe Biden), changed vote totals, or interfered with tabulation in a way that flipped the 2020 election outcome, China did meddle in the American elections to ensure Trump’s defeat and Biden’s triumph.
While Trump’s critics, including the American legacy media, are framing the US President’s presentation as an overstretching of the data-access findings for his own political gains, China’s broader pattern of attempting to influence foreign domestic politics and elections makes his claims plausible.
OpIndia reported about how the CCP created a transnational network of non-profits, activist groups, think tanks, and media outlets, operating as its propaganda machinery. The CCP orchestrated a pro-China information laundering network helmed by Neville Roy Singham, the US-born tech tycoon who sold his IT consulting firm Thoughtworks for about $785 million in 2017 before relocating to Shanghai.
This information laundering network modifies raw activism into polished propaganda, which is then amplified by the Roy-Singham-funded network to sow discord in the US and other democracies while burnishing China’s image as a ‘benevolent’ counterweight to ‘imperialism’, particularly American imperialism, with the ongoing left-wing activism in Cuba being a textbook case of this.
From pro-Palestine activism in the US, influx of far-left activists in Cuba amidst President Trump’s rising interest in the country, to ‘No War’ activism over the Iran war, these seemingly spontaneous and genuine anti-war protests are in reality, a part of well-organised, well-funded, and politically-motivated campaign, orchestrated by organisations and activists all finding their roots in the Neville Roy Singham’s network of philanthropic organisations, think thanks, media, and activists, intellectuals, celebrities, political organisers and comrades.
Neville Roy Singham funnelled over $278 million directly into his pro-China propaganda network since 2017, with total money flows exceeding $591 million across 223 transactions spanning five continents through the year 2025. The massive amount was pumped into over a thousand interconnected organisations, of which around 200 are directly involved in generating and propagating pro-China and anti-America messaging at the behest of the CCP.
China meddles in internal politics and elections of other countries: The ‘United Front’ strategy
For China, narrative is the key to power and self-interest not only within the country but also on foreign soil. From suppressing the truth of the Tiananmen Square massacre to firewalling anti-government criticism, the CCP regime believes that its survival and unquestioned rule is contingent on narrative control.
In fact, the CCP has a political strategy called “United Front”, which is designed to isolate enemies and co-opt allies from business groups, non-communist and minority populations.
The CCP’s United Front Work Department (UFWD) is a well-funded unit that operates through several front organisations in foreign nations to serve China’s interests and expand its influence. These front organisations do not overtly declare their affiliation to the CCP. Front organisations tasked state-owned enterprises, Chinese-registered private companies, Chinese student organisations, foreign cultural organisations, foreign media, members of Chinese ethnocultural communities, and prominent businesspeople and political figures to support the CCP’s goals through democratic institutions and processes.
Under the “United Front” strategy Mao Zedong used to call his “magic weapon”, the CCP influences operations, manufactures and disseminates disinformation, traps elites, uses economic coercion, cyber espionage, and erects proxy networks to shape narratives, policies and opinions to advance CCP interests in foreign countries.
This tactic involves funding or influencing media, think tanks, academia, and diaspora organisations, exploiting the systemic vulnerabilities in foreign government and democratic infrastructure, sometimes even inciting unrest. China leverages United Front Work for intelligence collection and repression.
Though countries interfering in or attempting to influence election results in other countries is not unique to China, no country attempts to execute such regime change operations at scale by the CCP’s centralised apparatus.
Chinese interference in Canadian federal elections
Before the US, China faced accusations of meddling in Canadian elections as well. In June 2024, a Canadian intelligence watchdog, the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP), released a report titled: Special Report on Foreign Interference in Canada’s Democratic Processes and Institutions. It uncovered the extensive interference of China in Canada’s electoral and legislative affairs. The redacted report mentions how certain Canadian MPs colluded with China.
The report revealed that some Chinese nationals, supported by the Chinese Communist Party, had and continue to engage in sophisticated efforts to break into and influence all levels of Canadian governance and economy.
It highlighted the CCP’s illegal attempts to intervene in Canadian elections, bribing Canadian officials, and using covert techniques to exploit Canada’s indigenous people for resource extraction, as mentioned in the non-redacted 2019 version of the report.
China had even set up Overseas Police Stations in Canada and other countries. Akin to the allegations levelled by Trump regarding Chinese influence in American elections, the NSICOP report stated that China used social media alongside the legacy media to influence the opinions of Canadian voters, ethnocultural groups and parliamentarians.
During the 2021 federal election in Canada, the Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections Task Force (SITE) noted that mainstream media and social media activities aimed at discouraging voters from supporting the Conservative Party. While a direct link to the Chinese government did not emerge, the pattern indicated a coordinated campaign orchestrated by China.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) assessments and the public Hogue Commission inquiry (2024) indicated that Beijing clandestinely and deceptively interfered in Canada’s 2019 and 2021 federal elections. China backed the then Justin Trudeau-led liberals, through favourable social media propaganda, proxy agents in the Chinese-Canadian community, funding the campaign of favourable nominees, etc.
The CCP influence over Canadian parliamentarians expanded to such an extent that it was rewarding and punishing Canadian MPs based on their pro or anti-China opinions expressed in the House.
China’s election interference goes as far as the US and Canada to ‘rival’ neighbour India.
Chinese interference in Indian politics: The NewsClick saga
The fresh allegations of CCP interference in American elections warrant recalling China’s continued meddling in India’s electoral politics. For years, Chinese-linked influence operations, be it media outlets, politicians, dubious NGOs, etc, have been shaping narratives against the Modi government with the ultimate aim of regime change.
None exemplifies this better than the NewsClick scandal. The pro-China propaganda portal first made headlines when it came under the radar of the Enforcement Directorate in 2021. The portal was reportedly accused of fraudulently receiving foreign funds amounting to around Rs. 38 crores.
In 2023, the Delhi Police Special Cell filed an FIR and later an extensive chargesheet under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha, HR head Amit Chakraborty, among others.
The same Neville Roy Singham, who ran a pro-China information laundering network in the US, has also expanded his tentacles to India. Roy Singham’s Justice and Education Fund donated $10.5 million to Delhi-based pro-China propaganda outlet, NewsClick.
One of the most prominent members of Roy Singham’s evil empire is Vijay Prashad. He has contributed several propaganda anti-India articles to NewsClick. Prashad is the nephew of Brinda Karat, a CPI(M) leader and wife of Prakash Karat, also a senior CPI(M) leader, whose email exchanges with Neville Roy Singham earlier revealed their close ties in the NewsClick Chinese funding scandal.
Vijay Prashad has also been a council member of the Progressive International, an international organisation that mobilises leftist activists and groups globally. OpIndia earlier highlighted how this outfit persistently publishes propaganda articles and statements peddling the insidious Muslim victimhood narrative to slander the Modi government. It regularly platforms notorious anti-Hindu and Islamist apologists like Harsh Mander, and has Islamo-leftist cheerleaders like Jayati Ghosh and former Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn as its council members.
Roy Singham’s propaganda network has a connection with pro-Hamas Tides Foundation. Tides Foundation is notorious for funding several anti-Hindu, anti-India organisations and elements. The Foundation gave grants to Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR), which has links to Islamists and Khalistanis, and was formed in 2019 by two Islamist advocacy groups, the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) athe nd Organisation for Minorities of India (OFMI).
Tides also funded AMAN Public Charitable Trust (AMAN). This trust is connected to the NewsClick-China funding scandal, where it is alleged that Chinese entities funded NewsClick to disrupt Indian sovereignty.
Among Indians introduced by Neville Roy Singham to his larger team, who worked with Tricontinental, one of the nonprofits that the New York Times said was involved in pushing Chinese talking points, were Prabir Purkayastha, Srujana, Prasanth, and Vijay Prashad.
Prashad also has close ties with Urban Naxal P Sainath, whose propaganda portal PARI recently removed references to Singham after his connection with the Chinese propaganda arm had come to light.
OpIndia has regularly called out Newsclick’s anti-Hindu propaganda. Moreover, Newsclick has also faced scrutiny for its alleged connections with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In 2023, an investigation by the New York Times uncovered an ecosystem of activist organisations, non-profits, shell corporations, and their intimate ties to China and Chinese propaganda, with Neville Roy Singham at its helm. A Delhi Police chargesheet filed in 2024 called the Chinese state the “ultimate paymaster”, with funds routed to stoke anti-India narratives, especially regarding Kashmir, and farmers’ protests. The case is ongoing in the court.
Back in 2021, OpIndia conducted a detailed investigation into the links of NewsClick and uncovered how it was linked to several individuals who regularly spew venom against India, from Urban Naxals to those like Teesta Setalvad, Abhisar Sharma and several others.
There are many Roy Singham network-backed pro-China propaganda factories actively peddling anti-India and anti-government narratives. OpIndia has reported about such entities, including People’s Dispatch, TriContinental, People’s Forum, among others.
From Kashmiri separatism, anti-Hindu tropes, glorification of Kerala’s ‘communist’ model, to Muslim victimhood, and propaganda maligning India’s global image, these CCP asset Roy Singham-backed entities are dedicated to weaponising issues, nonprofit laws, digital media, and every other resource at hand to undermine rival states, influence policy decisions, weaken India, and deliver a geopolitical edge to China.
In February this year, the Enforcement Directorate fined NewsClick and its founder-editor Prabir Purkayastha Rs 184 crore under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) for violating foreign funding regulations.
The NewsClick founder faced allegations of conspiring with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) member Neville Roy Singham to defame the Indian government and its efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 and cast aspersions about the efficacy of Indian vaccine ‘Covaxin’ developed by Bharat Biotech.
China-funded NewsClick platformed anti-India voices, gave funds to Islamist rioters behind 2020 anti-Hindu Delhi Riots
NewsClick has been accused of having obtained funds from China to provoke disturbances in India, especially amid the anti-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) protests to topple the Modi government, and has links to anti-India voices like Gautam Navlakha.
Its founder faced allegations of having ties to LeT (Lashkar-e-Taiba) terrorists, giving money to anti-Hindu 2020 Delhi riots accused Sharjeel Imam and Naxals in Delhi Police’s chargesheet.
On the 17th, an email marked ‘Share Notes on CAA docs’ was sent by Rajamanikam P, AIPSN (All India Peoples Science Network). AIPSN was founded by Prabir Pukayastha. The email content spread disinformation and fearmongered against CAA and NRC. It said that NRC was bound to persecute Muslims, even as there was not even a draft of NRC and the CAA had nothing to do with any Indian citizen at all.
OpIndia reported about how Teesta Setalvad, Harsh Mander, Prabir Purkayastha, Githa Hariharan and others strategised about instigating violence and stone pelting as well as arranging funding for ‘protestors’ during anti-CAA protests.
The 8000-page chargesheet also noted that NewsClick deliberately distorted the map of Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir to show that these territories belong to China.
NewsClick founder and Neville Roy Singham discussed how they could ally with separatist movements in India and other countries.
The chargesheet traced the beginning of the conspiracy from an email dump that ED shared with the Special Cell. One email from the 29th of June 2016 sent by Prabir Purkayastha to Neville Roy Singham marks the beginning of the conspiracy according to the Special Cell.
The subject of the email recovered by ED was “Social Media Group in India”. In the email, Prabir tells Neville that a group in ‘their’ media project should focus only on tools – which is collating and analysing data. Second, he suggests a dedicated team for social media campaigns. The budget he allocates for the social media campaigns is anywhere between $60,000 and $80,000.
Soon after, a NewsClick article was shared over email on the 17th of September 2016, which spoke of creating mass movements in the typical Maoist style.
The email exchanges between Roy Singham and Purkayastha showed that they discussed how to effectively ally with ‘separatist’ or identity movements.
SIR is a necessity to protect election integrity against domestic irregularities and foreign interference
From the case of Chinese interference and/or influence in electoral politics and outcomes in the US, Canada and India, it is evident that the CCP prefers liberals in power in rival or adversarial countries for a smooth advancement of its geopolitical and economic interests.
It is also interesting how the pro-China propagandists and politicians, be it in India, the US, or Canada, almost always dub the unfavourable government (from China’s perspective) as fascist, authoritarian, regressive, intolerant, racist, religious supremacist, and whatnot.
For India, the recent US allegations against China that it acquired and exploited 200 million American voter data to influence 2020 election results, and growing threats of adversarial foreign entities attempting to influence elections, point to the necessity of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
In the recent past, the Election Commission of India conducted the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls across various states ahead of elections, including Bihar and West Bengal. Under this exercise, the ECI officials conducted door-to-door enumeration, cross-checking, removal of duplicate voters, removal of names of deceased persons and migrants who have shifted, and illegal voters.
While the SIR exercise aimed to clean and update electoral rolls, it triggered a political storm in India after lakhs of illegal or fake voters were weeded out from voters’ lists. The opposition parties alleged targeted disenfranchisement of Muslims, the ECI denied any religious targeting while numerous illegal immigrants, mainly Muslims from Bangladesh went into panic.
The US allegations show that voter data is a high-value target, and compromised or manipulated rolls enable fake voter entries. At the same time, proxy influence through media and social media propaganda consolidates votes against the unfavourable government a foreign government or entity wants to oust from power.
The SIR exercise, stricter implementation of FCRA rules, and thorough investigation into the anti-India activities of so-called ‘intellectuals’ and ‘activists’ regularly pushing anti-India and pro-China propaganda need to be conducted to protect Indian democracy and territorial integrity against foreign narrative warfare and regime change operations.
The Special Intensive Revision may not be a silver bullet against foreign electoral interference; however, it directly addresses and fixes vulnerabilities in the electoral infrastructure.
A recent tweet by former Japanese Justice Minister Hideki Makihara, sharing an article from Toyo Keizai Online by railway consultant Isao Tsujimura, has been widely circulated on social media. His words about Indians “pushing their own self-interest” and the bullet train project being a “failure” are being presented by many as proof of something shady, as if Makihara is talking about the personal interests of ministers or officials.
That interpretation is completely off the mark. Both Makihara and Tsujimura are speaking from the Japanese side of the table. They are frustrated that Japan is losing out on lucrative contracts for trains and, especially, the critical signalling system, in India’s high-speed rail system. What they describe as Indian “recklessness” or “not keeping promises” is simply India negotiating hard for its own national interest, getting a high-speed rail corridor built sooner, at a more reasonable cost, while developing domestic manufacturing capability.
Tsujimura, a Japanese railway engineer living and working in Delhi as a metro vehicle consultant, has followed the project closely even though he has no direct involvement. In his July 2026 Toyo Keizai article, he describes how things gradually diverged from the original Japanese vision. He claims that the “Indian Shinkansen” project has failed despite PM Takaichi’s recent visit to India. His major opposition to the project is due to the fact that the Japanese signalling system has been excluded from the project.
Original plan and diversion
The original 2015 agreement between India and Japan for the 508-kilometre Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail corridor was designed around Japanese Shinkansen technology. Japan offered a soft loan covering most of the cost at an almost negligible 0.1 per cent interest, repayable over 50 years. In return, India was supposed to import everything from Japan: Japanese trains, Japanese signalling (Digital Shinkansen Automatic Train Control or DS-ATC), and Japanese systems. Initially, even civil works were supposed to be carried out by Japanese companies, it was opened to Indian contractors to control overall costs. The groundbreaking took place in 2017 with great fanfare. The original target of full opening by 2023 was always optimistic, which was missed due to various reasons.
Now, the project is progressing smoothly, but with several changes from the original plan. India is not using the Japanese signalling system, nor the older version of Japan’s Shinkansen trainset, and various Indian systems are being integrated into the project. This has been viewed as ‘betrayal’ by Makihara and Tsujimura, and they think the project is a ‘failure’ because of this. They also think the Japanese Shinkansen can’t run on non-Japanese signalling systems.
The Trainset
While the original plan included starting with Japan’s E5 trainset, it has been rejected by India, and it has selected the E10 train, which is still under development. Tsujimura admits that the E5 price refused to come down, making it prohibitively costly for India. Talks over the older E5-series trains stalled because India found them too expensive, and also over India’s demands for modifications in the train. As a result, negotiations on the E5 trainset were terminated in 2024.
E5 trainset
The newer E10 series that Japan later offered is still under development and not expected to be ready for Indian conditions for years; it will be operational by early next decade. While the project was delayed, it has now progressed considerably, and the track and civil infrastructure are almost completed. India did not want a nearly completed, extremely expensive corridor sitting idle, waiting for Japanese E10 trains.
So, the Indian government decided to start commercial operations with its own trains first. Success with Vande Bharat trains meant that India now has the capability to build high-speed trains, giving confidence to the government to start the high-speed rail system with indigenous trains.
Rendering of E10 trainset, currently in development
Isao Tsujimura says that Vande Bharat trains rarely run at speeds over 130 km per hour, but that is due to the limitations of existing track and signalling systems, not due to any deficiency of the trains, as they have achieved higher speeds in trial runs. Therefore, the scepticism about India’s ability to make high-speed trainsets is misplaced. As the Mumbai-Ahmedabad track is a dedicated high-speed network, trains will not face the limitations faced on existing old tracks.
Therefore, BEML in Bengaluru was given the order to build indigenous high-speed B28 trainsets capable of hitting a speed of 280 kmph. BEML has stated that each coach for the trains will be manufactured at a cost of ₹27.9 crore, which is significantly lower than the price of each Shinkansen E5 coach, approximately ₹46 crore. The E5 train can hit 320 kmph, B28 will be slower, but still much faster than any other Indian train. Globally, most high-speed trains run at above 250 kmph.
Rendering of B28 trainset
The first section is targeted for next year with Indian trains. According to the Government of India sources, Japan also agreed to start the project with India-made trains.
It is important to note that while India refused to purchase the E5 trainset, the country is committed to acquiring Japanese E10-based trains to turn the project into a true high-speed rail network. The train is still under development, and India is expected to acquire it in the early 2030s.
Signalling System
Tsujimura and Makihara are most concerned about dropping the Japanese signalling system from the Indian project, and called it a ‘betrayal’ by the Indian side. While Japan was expecting that India would buy their Digital Shinkansen Automatic Train Control (DS-ATC) signalling system for the project, India insisted on internationally certified standards, and also wanted interoperability with existing networks in the country.
Using the Japanese signalling would have meant it could be used only with Japanese bullet trains. As the E5 train was ruled out and the E10 train is not yet in production, this would have meant that the track completed with all systems would be lying idle till E10 trains arrive. Therefore, the Japanese System, which has an impeccable record of no passenger deaths due to accidents, unfortunately, didn’t meet India’s requirements.
Therefore, India decided to invite a global tender for the signalling system. The tender specifications effectively favoured the European Train Control System (ETCS) Level 2. A Siemens-led consortium with Indian partner DRA Infracon won the roughly ₹4,100-crore contract. The ETCS Level 2-based signalling and train control technologies are being installed to support train operations at speeds up to 350 kmph, enabling real-time train supervision, continuous wireless communication, and centralised traffic management.
India already has operational experience with ETCS Level 2 on the Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (Namo Bharat), supplied by Alstom. That system is a widely used international standard, supports high speeds, and offers better interoperability and potential for future Indian exports. Japanese DS-ATC is proprietary and tied tightly to Japanese rolling stock. From India’s point of view, switching to ETCS made commercial and operational sense: it allowed earlier utilisation of the infrastructure with Indian-made trains and avoided locking the entire project into a single expensive supplier for the critical safety system.
ETCS Level 2 signalling system
Tsujimura and Makihara see this as Japan being “excluded” from the heart of the project. They argue that Japanese Shinkansen trains are not designed to run on ETCS and that mixing systems creates safety and operational risks. That concern is not baseless. Pure Japanese trains would need onboard modifications or dual systems, and coexistence studies are still being discussed. Yet the claim that bullet trains simply “cannot” run on different signalling is overstated.
Technical adaptations, retrofits, and parallel installations are possible, as seen in other rail networks around the world. Siemens Mobility Sales Head Pankaj Rastogi has said that Japanese trains will need to be retrofitted to use ETCS signalling systems, which means it is possible.
India, a better negotiator
The Japanese side is not happy about the loss of the signalling package and E5 trainset supply. Their frustration is understandable from an industrial and national perspective. Japan provided the cheap, long-term money, expecting its companies to supply the high-value technology packages. India took the money for the infrastructure and then insisted on better terms and greater self-reliance for the systems that run on it.
This is not a story of corruption or betrayal. It is a case of India using its leverage. Soft loans almost always come with expectations of tied procurement. India renegotiated, limited Japanese participation in civil works, chose a different signalling standard that is not locked to one system, and ordered its own trains so the line can open in phases starting in 2027.
India has long been known as a tough negotiator. Even Donald Trump has publicly called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a tougher and better negotiator than himself. That reputation is not a flaw; it is a feature when a large developing country is dealing with advanced industrial partners in projects worth billions.
Japan’s engineering excellence, particularly the unmatched safety record of the Shinkansen, deserves respect. The soft loan terms remain highly favourable to India. But India had its own reasons not to use some parts from Japan. However, the entire corridor is being built according to the Japanese specifications.
Delayed but progressing well
Isao Tsujimura also talked about delays in the project, which is true. A major reason for earlier delays was land acquisition, especially in Maharashtra. Under the previous non-NDA Maha Vikas Aghadi government in the state, progress on land and clearances slowed significantly. Once the NDA government took over, approvals moved, and work accelerated. Gujarat, under continuous NDA rule, progressed faster throughout. These political and administrative realities on the ground matter more than any accusation of “not keeping promises.”
At present, work on the project is progressing rapidly, large stretches of viaducts and piers are complete, land acquisition for the entire corridor is finished, and work continues at pace. The government is certain that the first made-in-India high-speed trainsets will run on the completed sections of the network by next year.
Therefore, the claim that the project is a ‘failure’ is completely incorrect. Yes, it will not be a true Shinkansen, as Japan was expecting, but it will be India’s own high-speed rail network, with technology and systems from Japan, Europe, and India.
As the corridor is being built, the Indian industry is gaining experience in high-speed rolling stock and systems integration. The project is not a failure; it is evolving into something more balanced for the Indian side.
Makihara’s experience of difficult Indian negotiations and Tsujimura’s technical disappointment are genuine from their viewpoint. But framing them as evidence of Indian betrayal or project collapse misses the larger picture. India is protecting its taxpayers’ money, accelerating useful infrastructure, and building its own capability. In international deals, the country that can push hardest for its own long-term benefit usually ends up better off. India is doing exactly that.
The Balochistan freedom struggle has evolved into a significant crisis for Pakistan as armed rebel factions have exhibited extraordinary organisational strength in the fight against their occupation. The conflict continues to escalate due to enduring grievances related to political marginalisation, resource exploitation and state oppression. Similarly, the locals have also persistently resisted foreign resource extraction and the regular deprivation of the wealth produced in the southwestern region.
On the other hand, Islamabad has unsuccessfully tried to suppress the movement through brutal violence and bloodshed, an approach that has taken a heavy toll on both its economy and troops leading to further deterioration of an already volatile affair. Its latest casualty could be the largest Chinese-run copper and gold mine in Pakistan. Saindak Metals Limited (SML) warned that the growing uprising in the unstable area might compel it to shut down its operations.
The concerns were conveyed by its managing director in a letter to Pakistan’s energy ministry, reported Financial Times on 15th July. Predictably, the article was first dismissed as “questionable” and then an attempt was made to evade the pertinent inquiry with “assurances” regarding the security of the Chinese people present there.
When a journalist asked about it, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Tahir Andrabi responded, “We are not obliged to talk about news stories whose facts remain questionable. Pakistan and China have an active dialogue on all aspects of their relation, including the security of Chinese nationals in Pakistan working on various economic projects, including those in Balochistan,” during a press briefing.
He asserted that as the host nation, it ensures “impeccable security” for their Chinese guests, including technicians, workers and others participating in these ventures.
Weekly Press Briefing by the Spokesperson @TahirAndrabi
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) July 16, 2026
What is inside the FT report
The FT article on Saindak Metals Limited, published on July 15, quotes the company’s MD Raziq Sanjrani stating, “The prevailing law and order situation in the province has severely affected the transportation of essential project cargo,” in the communication to the minister, per the media house. “If this situation continues unabated, the uninterrupted operation of the Saindak Copper-Gold Project may become unsustainable, and there is a serious likelihood that its operations may be forced to cease within a month owing to the non-availability of essential production materials and logistical support,” he highlighted.
The state-controlled Metallurgical Corporation of China leased Saindak in 2001 and it has been run as a joint venture with Pakistan’s state-owned SML. The license was renewed for an additional 15 years in 2022.
According to the letter, road travel has become “increasingly hazardous” due to the strikes carried out by Baloch freedom fighters, making it the primary problem for its operations. “The situation in Balochistan is far worse than many in Islamabad realise. Security is especially bad in the area where major projects like (the Barrick Mining-backed) Reko Diq and Saindak are located,” an insider revealed to FT.
Islamabad maintains that it can put an end to the armed dispute and provide “foolproof security” for international investors. Unsurprisingly, it has decided to blame India, rather than confronting its own actions and step-motherly treatment towards Balochistan. The latter has strongly rebutted the bogus allegations.
The onslaught on foreign assets and staff by Baloch freedom fighters has affected the ties between Pakistan and its closest economic and defence partner, as well as “all-weather friend,” China, after dozens of its citizens have lost their lives in recent years. Senior officials, including President Xi Jinping, have told their Pakistani counterparts that higher security is necessary to secure future funding in light of these precarious circumstances.
Pakistan’s economic objectives rooted in the abuse of Balochistan
According to official data, the output of the project represented a major portion of Islamabad’s approximately $750 million in copper products last year but nearly all of it has been delivered to Beijing. The latter also played the part biggest bilateral lender to its “Muslim ally.” It has awarded billions of dollars in grants and loans to build electricity and transport infrastructure as part of the Belt and Road Initiative. It is Xi’s global strategy to expand his country’s influence across nations and push expansionist polices.
While the Pakistani government continues to profit from the resources extracted from Balochistan, the region’s residents do not often see the benefits of those profits. On 8th July, Pakistan’s Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, announced that Baloch fighters have killed 42 persons, including law enforcement and security officials.
More than 20 people were killed in an explosion near a railway track in its capital Quetta in May. The incident happened just after a shuttle train carrying soldiers and officials left the army cantonment for Eid holidays. Baloch fighters earlier hijacked “Jaffar Express” with 400 passengers on board as it was travelling from Quetta to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Peshawar in March. The train was targeted because it serves as a crucial route for the mobility of Pakistani troops.
A few months before, a coordinated attack against the Pakistani forces and military installations spanning the region claimed the lives of over 200 personnel and captured 17 others in January. Meanwhile, the country’s media media alleged that over 100 persons from Islamist and separatist groups have been neutralised since 5th July.
The latest development has dealt a severe setback to Pakistan’s aspirations to transform its western frontier into a site for the extraction of natural resources and a source of vital export income. Barrick Mining had previously delayed the construction of the $9 billion Reko Diq gold and copper mine after it assessed the security condition in the area and the interruption to the supply chain brought on by the tensions in West Asia. Saindak and Reko Diq are about 50 kilometres apart and both have several shared transportation connections.
Notably, another Chinese firm had to cease its operations in the Gwadar North Free Zone in May. A private limited entity named “Hangeng Trade Company,” had built the first large-scale donkey slaughterhouse and processing facility in the country under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) framework. The move was prompted after the modern export-oriented plant was plagued by bureaucratic obstacles, blocked exports despite complete regulatory compliance and spiking financial losses.
Baloch people’s repeated opposition to appropriation of their resources to outsiders
Speaking to OpIndia, Dr. Allah Nazar Baloch, the present chief of the Balochistan Liberation Front had emphasised the malicious alliance between Islamabad and Beijing in an interview with OpIndia in 2019. He stated that the two wanted to take advantage of the resource-rich region, appropriate its natural wealth and implement an artificial demographic shift by displacing the indigenous population.
“Balochistan has more than 100 minerals. Pakistan has exploited and now is plundering gold, copper, uranium, copper, silver and other resources with the help of China. As the demographic change is concerned, thousands of Baloch are shifted by force along the CPEC route to other places, and initially 0.5 million Chinese are being settled in Gwadar, and three thousand acres of land are legislated and allocated to them. Now we are a double colony as China has officially joined Pakistan to continue the occupation of Balochistan,” he pointed out
He further charged, “China wants to build and raise its empire in Gwadar. At first, China is building a naval base in Jewani near Strait of Hormuz. This colonial act not only effects Baloch but also whole the world will suffer from its subsequent consequences. China is settling more than half a million of people in Gwadar. In the same fashion, Punjabis will bring their five million people here, which is bound to cause a major demographic change in the area.”
He also discussed the Chinese takeover of mining activities in the area, remarking, “China has already seized Saindak’s gold and copper project in Balochistan. Now the whole Balochistan is opened for China to explore oil, gold, and copper, etc.”
Pakistan faced similar backlash in September when Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir made a personal presentation of a polished tray containing ‘rare earth minerals’ to United States President Donald Trump in a desperate effort to curry favour with the White House.
Baloch activists denounced the action as a theatrical endeavour to market the stolen treasure right after the pictures were made public. They accused Islamabad of stealing their land, claiming it as its own and trying to mortgage the region’s riches to Washington , much as it had done with Beijing.
On Thursday (16th July), the Delhi High Court granted bail to one Abid Ali and Furkan, who were involved in attacking journalists during their coverage of an anti-encroachment drive in Seemapuri last year.
For the unversed, reporter Supriya Pathak and her cameraman, Shyam, were brutally attacked by a mob of Islamic extremists on 4th July 2025. The incident occurred when the duo were reporting on illegal encroachments and slum settlements built on government land near a mosque in Bengali Market, Delhi. The area fell under the jurisdiction of the Seemapuri police station.
According to the victims, a mob of burqa-clad women and underage boys not only beat them up mercilessly, but also looted their equipment, cash and personal belongings. While speaking to OpIndia, the victims said that they were assaulted separately. They were chased by a Muslim mob, which resorted to pelting stones and whipping belts.
दिल्ली सीमापुरी इलाके की बंगाली बस्ती में All India News की रिपोर्टर सुप्रीया पाठक कैमरामैन श्याम के साथ अवैध झुग्गी वाले मुद्दे पर कवरेज के लिए गईं थीं। सड़क के बीच बनी मस्जिद के पास कैमरा देखते ही जिहादियों की भीड़ ने दोनों पर हमला बोल दिया। भीड़ ने लिंचिग करने की कोशिश की।… pic.twitter.com/kDmqR5HWec
The matter came up for hearing before a Single-Judge Bench of Justice Girish Kathpalia. During the hearing, the accused Abid Ali claimed that he never entered the bus, where the two journalists took refuge to escape the brutal assault by the marauding mob. In his defence, he alleged that his mother prevented him from boarding the bus.
Interestingly, the counsel of Abid Ali tried to de-legitimise the assault on the journalists by claiming that the victims were not from a ‘formal media house’ but ‘only freelancing for a YouTube channel.’ On the other hand, the accused Furkan has claimed that he was not present in the area at the time of the attack. His counsel had suggested that the victims suffered only ‘minor abrasions.’
The Delhi High Court noted that 4 other accused in the case have already been granted bail. Only Furkan and Abid Ali have been behind bars since 5th July 2025.
With the Investigating Officer/SI Virender Kumar absent from the court proceedings and certain ‘discrepancies’ existing in the chargesheet (colour of shirt worn by Furkan), Justice Girish Kathpalia granted bail to him and Abid Ali with a paltry bond of ₹10,000. The court ruled, “The accused/applicants cannot be kept in jail endlessly.“
During the court proceedings, the Assistant Public Prosecutor (APP) had submitted that Abid Ali and Furkan do not deserve bail as they had assaulted press reporters when they were trying to flee from the mob.
Justice Girish Kathpalia decided to double down on determining who qualifies to be a ‘journalist’ in a case about assault on 2 reporters by a violent mob.
“Despite sensitivity of the issue, the complainant apparently opted not to take the local police into confidence before starting their venture, though that cannot at all justify attack on them by the agitated locals. But the larger issue, as raised by prosecution side, being that the assault on the complainant was assault on freedom of press, I have deliberated upon this aspect,” he noted.
The Delhi High Court Judge then proceeded to dedicate 3 pages of his judgment to mouth platitudes on the state of Indian media. Justice Girish Kathpalia stated,
“…A significant section of the media has become largely unregulated and unorganized. Today, virtually anyone armed with a mobile phone and a microphone can proclaim themselves to be a “reporter”…”
He then went on to question ‘self-styled reporters’ who supposedly thrust microphones at citizens and, in the absence of an answer, declare that the ‘individual is evading questions’. Justice Girish Kathpalia claimed that it leads to the creation of ‘misleading public narrative’ and ‘unwarranted public pressure’.
The Delhi High Court further stated, “Equally disturbing is the tendency of some media actors to target or malign a particular social group through selective reporting, sensationalism or unverified allegations.” He claimed that such reporting could deepen social divisions, trigger communal disharmony and public disorder.
It is important to remember that the case under discussion concerns illegal encroachment in Seemapur, which was reported by Supriya Pathak and her cameraman, Shyam. Besides being assaulted for engaging in citizen journalism, these victims are now being virtue-signalled about ‘journalistic ethics’ by the same court that granted bail to the accused involved in violence against them.
The patronising, preachy attitude could have been reserved for another judgment. This reeks of borderline victim-blaming. To make matters worse, the court chose this case to suggest the creation of a regulatory framework for journalists.
“The time has come for the legislature to consider an appropriate regulatory framework that preserves freedom of press, while ensuring professional accountability, ethical standards, and respect for the rule of law, the rights of citizens and the larger public interest,” Justice Girish Kathpalia stated.
All accused in the case are now out on bail, the victims got assaulted, and now, a year later, their journalistic credentials are being downgraded as mere ‘freelancers working for a YouTube channel.’
A leaf from the Nupur Sharma case
This is not the first time that the Judiciary has resorted to targeting the victim instead of putting the onus of violence on the actual perpetrators.
In July 2022, the Supreme Court (SC) came down hard on former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, saying that she was responsible for the brutal Udaipur killings with her comments on Prophet Muhammad and said she should “apologise to the whole country”.
A bench headed by Justices Surya Kant and J.B Pardiwala observed, “The way she has ignited emotions across the country. This lady is single-handedly responsible for what is happening in the country.”
By blaming Nupur Sharma, the apex court of the country had conveniently ignored the hatred and violence unleashed by Islamists and has instead targeted the woman who had stated merely what is written in Islamic hadiths, and affirmed by Islamic scholars all over the world.
At that time, the Supreme Court of the so-called secular, democratic country, which is supposed to be the conscience of the nation, had shockingly chosen to behave like a Church figure in a medieval witch trial. The recent Delhi High Court judgment is no different from this matter.
Marking a major step towards clean mobility in the railway sector, Prime Minister Modi will inaugurate India’s first hydrogen-powered train in Haryana today. The indigenously developed 10-coach trainset will run along an 89-km stretch between Jind and Sonipat, marking a significant leap towards sustainable train travel in the country.
The train will connect Jind Junction, Gohana Junction and Sonipat while serving intermediate stations. The proposed halts of the train include Jind City, Pandu Pindara Junction, Lalit Khera Halt, Bhambhewa, Isapur Kheri Halt, Butane Halt, Khandrai Halt, Rabrah Halt, Lath Halt, Mohana, Barwasni Halt and Sonipat New. The rail project serves the dual purpose of promoting clean energy and enhancing regional connectivity.
— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) July 17, 2026
The project places India among a select group of nations
The rail project uses hydrogen fuel cell technology, which has emerged globally as a sustainable alternative to fossil-fuel-based traction systems. With the project, India has joined the league of countries, including Germany, Japan, China and the United States, which have been exploring hydrogen-powered rail transportation.
Since Hydrogen fuel cell technology is currently in its nascent stage, the project, which was developed as a pilot initiative, will provide valuable operational experience and support future applications of hydrogen-powered mobility in the railway sector.
#WATCH | Jind, Haryana | The first hydrogen-powered train between Jind and Sonipat tomorrow reached the Jind Railway Junction. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the train later today. (16.07) pic.twitter.com/qv8OIiI9Cv
While conventional electric trains that draw power from overhead wires or diesel locomotives that burn fuel, this hydrogen-powered trainset generates its own electricity onboard through Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cells.
The Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology used in the rail project is a clean and sustainable method of generating power. The technology produces electricity through a chemical reaction using hydrogen. The main component of the system is a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC), which is the primary source of energy. The fuel cell generates energy by reacting hydrogen and oxygen across a proton-conducting Perfluorosulfonic Acid (PFSA) polymer membrane. The membrane allows only hydrogen ions (protons) to pass through while blocking electrons. The electrons are forced to travel through an external circuit, creating an electric current. This electricity is then used to run the train’s electric motors.
The train is equipped with two Hydrogen Driving Power Cars (DPCs) and eight Trailer Coaches (TCs). In every DPC, there are fuel cells, lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries and hydrogen storage cylinders and produces 1,200 kW (around 1,600 hp) of power. Together, the two power cars provide sufficient propulsion for the full train set.
Only water vapour and heat are produced as byproducts in the process. No harmful emissions take place during the process, as no fuel is burned. This makes hydrogen the cleanest propulsion technology currently available for rail transport. Hydrogen is a high-energy fuel (120 MJ/Kg (megajoules per kilogram)) compared to diesel (43 MJ/Kg). It is low maintenance with a manageable carbon footprint.
An integrated rail project for reliable and safe travel
The project will be supported by the country’s largest railway hydrogen storage and refuelling facility been established at Jind, Haryana. The facility stores nearly 3,000 kg of hydrogen at a time. The Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) has granted the required licence, which covers the storage and dispensing of compressed hydrogen gas at the site.
The entire hydrogen ecosystem has been designed in accordance with internationally accepted standards, including the NFPA-2 (National Fire Protection Association) and ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) 19880 Series. It has undergone an independent third-party safety assessment by TÜV SÜD, Germany, one of the world’s leading technical inspection and certification agencies.
The project has been developed as per the design and technical features approved by the Research, Design & Standards Organisation (RDSO). It combines advanced propulsion technology with dedicated hydrogen storage, refuelling and operational infrastructure. It emits only water vapour, requires no overhead electrification, and reduces noise and fossil fuel dependence.
For ensuring reliable and safe rail operations, the facility has an integrated infrastructure. It has been equipped with a hydrogen compression system for refuelling operations, technical support and critical spares for reliable functioning and a standby compressor to ensure uninterrupted refuelling.
As hydrogen is highly inflammable and cannot be seen or smelled, great emphasis has been given in the rail project on detecting even the smallest leak instantly. A multi-layered “defence-in-depth” approach has been adopted in the project by installing continuous detection systems to monitor for hydrogen leaks, heat, flames and smoke on the train and at the plant.
The project aligns with the National Green Hydrogen Mission
The train project aligns with the National Green Hydrogen Mission and Indian Railways’ broader journey towards net-zero carbon emissions. After achieving more than 99 per cent electrification of broad-gauge routes and sharply reducing diesel dependence, the introduction of hydrogen propulsion represents the next logical step in clean mobility.
It was the night of 6th July 1987. A Haryana Roadways bus had left Chandigarh and was moving towards Rishikesh. The passengers were mainly pilgrims, labourers, women, children and men who expected nothing worse than a late arrival. When the bus was about to cross Lalru, a car cut across its path. Armed men climbed aboard, drove the bus off the main road, taunted the passengers, looted them, and opened fire from both ends of the vehicle.
38 people were killed that night, including five women and four children. This was not crossfire. There was no confusion. The victims were selected and marked for death because they were Hindus travelling through a landscape in which Khalistani terror had learnt how to weaponise the ordinary journey.
This was not an isolated incident. The scene was repeated, with variations, across Punjab during the insurgency. A bus was stopped. A train was halted using the emergency chain. Identities were checked by beard, turban, name, accent or the answers demanded at gunpoint. Sikh passengers were told to step aside. Women and children were sometimes waved away, sometimes not.
Hindu men were lined up, ordered off the bus, or trapped inside a compartment and shot at close range. When the killings moved off the roads, they entered markets, brick kilns, morning shakhas and factory floors. When such incidents are taken together, they describe not just accidental civilian loss but a recurring method of communal terrorism.
Before Blue Star, the pattern was already visible
One of the most common illusions about the Punjab insurgency is that the organised killing of Hindu civilians began only after Operation Blue Star in June 1984. The chronology does not support this theory. Lala Jagat Narain, the founder of the Hind Samachar Group and an outspoken critic of separatist militancy, was assassinated on 9th September 1981.
Within weeks, Dal Khalsa hijackers seized Indian Airlines Flight 423 and demanded the release of Khalistani terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Lala Jagat Narain was murdered during the early stage of a campaign against opponents of militant separatism, well before June 1984.
By early October 1983, the violence had acquired a new and more chilling grammar. In the Dhilwan bus killings of 5th and 6th October 1983, six Hindu passengers were taken from a bus travelling from Dhilwan towards Jalandhar. They were shot dead after the attackers asked the passengers to identify their religion.
Media reports suggest that it was among the first notorious bus massacres in which Hindus were selected and shot during the insurgency. President’s Rule followed immediately in Punjab.
But President’s Rule did not stop the killings. On 18th November 1983, another bus in Kapurthala district was intercepted and four Hindu passengers were killed. Notably, in both the Dhilwan and Kapurthala episodes, the hijacked buses ended up abandoned in the same border belt near Amritsar. These were not yet the highest-casualty attacks of the insurgency, but they showed that public transport had become a practical theatre for communal selection and execution.
The pre-Blue Star record grew bloodier in February 1984. On 23rd February, a cluster of attacks took place, leading to the deaths of 11 Hindus, while over two dozen people were wounded. Both trains and buses were attacked. While this was not a single-location massacre and involved multiple incidents, the murders happened on a single day.
Months before the Army entered the Golden Temple complex, Khalistani terrorists were pulling civilians from transport networks and turning buses and trains into tools of communal terror. Government and newspaper tallies for the first five months of 1984 recorded hundreds of violent incidents and around 300 deaths before Operation Blue Star began.
The bus route near Moga added one more pre-June marker. On 21st May, six Khalistani terrorists hijacked a bus near Moga and killed four Hindu passengers. Ten others were injured.
Why Hindus were being singled out
Reports from that time were unusually direct about why Hindus were being targeted during these attacks. In July 1986, after the Muktsar massacre, the Los Angeles Times wrote that the attack strongly suggested an intensified separatist campaign to polarise Sikh and Hindu communities. It described a broader campaign aimed at driving Hindus out of Punjab.
Following the Hoshiarpur massacre in November 1986, the LA Times reported that the killings appeared designed to create divisions between Sikh and Hindu populations. Police officials were quoted as saying that the terrorists wanted Sikhs outside Punjab to move in and Hindus inside Punjab to move out.
The Washington Post made a similar point after the Lalru massacre in July 1987, suggesting that terrorists had adopted tactics meant to force Hindus out of the state and create wider tensions elsewhere in the country.
Several statements from the authorities reinforced that interpretation. After the Muktsar massacre, Barnala authorities appealed to people not to fall into the trap of forces seeking “fratricidal bloodshed”. After the Hoshiarpur massacre, Congress leader Rajiv Gandhi called it a “grave provocation” to secularism and brotherhood. After the Moga massacre in 1989, then Home Minister Buta Singh explicitly described the attack as an attempt by terrorists to whip up communal tensions.
These were not retrospective ideological readings imposed decades later. They were the language used by the state at the time in response to the pattern it believed was unfolding. The strategic objective of the terrorists was brutally simple. If Hindus could be made to feel unsafe in Punjab, and if retaliatory anti-Sikh violence could be provoked elsewhere, everyday coexistence could be broken.
Punjab could then be made to appear, falsely but usefully for militants, as a territory where non-Sikhs could not live securely. That is why so many of the chosen targets were buses, trains, market squares and workplaces, the places where ordinary, mixed, unguarded daily life was still functioning. Terror on that terrain was meant to convert coexistence into suspicion.
There is another necessary point that needs to be discussed. This was a strategy of Khalistani terrorists, and the whole Sikh community cannot be said to have had a similar aim. Sikhs were themselves killed by terrorists, including moderates, politicians, policemen and dissenters.
Harchand Singh Longowal, who signed the Rajiv-Longowal Accord in July 1985, was assassinated in August by terrorists opposed to that peace effort. The existence of anti-Hindu massacres is historically undeniable. Similarly, it is also a fact that the terrorists targeted Sikhs who stood against them. Any honest account must hold both truths together.
Buses and trains became killing fields
Dhilwan, October 1983. Dhilwan matters not only because it was early, but because it fixed the basic image that would recur for years. A bus was stopped, identities were demanded, and Hindu passengers were separated and shot. The public memory it created was decisive. It established that transport corridors could be turned into sites of communal sorting and death.
Kapurthala, November 1983. The November killings in Kapurthala district showed that Dhilwan was not a one-off horror. Four Hindu passengers were murdered after another bus was intercepted. In the public mind, repetition gave the method its meaning: what had looked like a singular outrage in October now appeared to be a developing tactic.
Muktsar, 25th July 1986. By the time the attackers struck near Muktsar, the method had become terrifyingly refined. According to the Los Angeles Times, Khalistani terrorists boarded the bus and ordered women, children and Sikh passengers, identifiable by their turbans and unshorn beards, to get down. They then opened fire on those left behind. The paper reported that at least 14 of the dead were believed to be Hindus and that one clean-shaven Sikh may have been killed because he was mistaken for a Hindu. In one small detail, the whole communal logic of the attack was exposed. Visible religious identity determined survival.
Hoshiarpur or Khudda, 30th November 1986. Four months later came one of the most explicit bus massacres of the insurgency. Near Khuda in Hoshiarpur district, Khalistani terrorists ordered Hindu passengers off a public bus and opened fire on them as they descended. Twenty-four people were killed and seven were wounded, according to police accounts carried by the Los Angeles Times. The report called it the worst single terrorist incident in Punjab that year and linked it directly to the earlier Muktsar attack, noting that both appeared intended to divide Sikhs and Hindus.
Lalru, 6th July 1987. Lalru became infamous because of its scale and cruelty. The bus was not merely stopped and sprayed with bullets. According to the Washington Post and later reconstructions based on survivor testimony, the terrorists followed the vehicle, commandeered it, drove it off the highway, looted the passengers, mocked police chief Julio Ribeiro, and then fired for about five minutes from both ends of the bus. The dead included women and children. A note reportedly left behind threatened the killing of a hundred Hindus for every Sikh youth allegedly killed by the state. The massacre was therefore not only communal; it was demonstrative, theatrical, and meant to travel as a rumour and a warning.
Fatehabad, 7th July 1987. A day later, the violence crossed into Haryana but remained inseparable from the Punjab insurgency. Two buses were attacked near Fatehabad; 34 Hindu passengers were killed and 18 were wounded. Later reporting tied the methods closely to Lalru, citing a second vehicle used to stop the bus, looting, Chinese automatic rifles, and a likely escape route back towards the Punjab border. What Lalru and Fatehabad showed together was the wave pattern of terror, with one massacre not ending but rolling into another before the first shock had settled.
Ludhiana district, 15th June 1991. The attacks on two passenger trains in Ludhiana district pushed the logic of transport terror to an even larger scale. Sources differ on the precise toll, with contemporary reporting putting the death toll at at least 80 and some later tallies rising well above 100. What is not in doubt is that militants halted the trains by pulling the emergency cords and then opened fire inside the compartments on an election day already darkened by violence. Not every person killed in the June 1991 attacks was necessarily singled out in the same way, which is why the communal component must be described with care. But the massacre plainly belongs in the history of how rail travel in Punjab was converted into a space of civilian slaughter.
Sohian, 26th December 1991. The December massacre near Sohian was more explicitly selective. Terrorists boarded a local train from Ludhiana to Ferozepur, pulled the emergency chain near Sohian, and then shot 50+ passengers who appeared to be Hindu.
Markets, kilns and factory floors were not spared
Public transport was the most recognisable stage for these killings, but it was never the only one. On 29th March 1986, terrorists killed around 20 labourers at Mallian near Jalandhar.
The Moga massacre of 25th June 1989 showed that the target could also be a stationary Hindu gathering. Terrorists opened fire from a van on an RSS morning assembly at Nehru Park. Initial reporting in The Washington Post said that at least 24 people were killed; later counts and the Moga district memorial page place the death toll at 25 or 26, with more deaths occurring in bomb blasts after the shooting. Buta Singh called it a grave attempt to inflame communal passions. The official memorial at Shahidi Park still preserves the event in local memory, but as with so many such massacres, the wider national memory has shrunk the dead into a number.
Abohar, on 7th March 1990, brought this terror into the commercial heart of a town. Gunmen opened fire in a crowded market and killed 22 Hindus. A market full of civilians was chosen because such a place magnified fear. A bazaar is the opposite of a battlefield; that is precisely why terrorists chose it. OpIndia’s detailed report on the incident can be accessed here.
The violence also travelled outside Punjab. In Rudrapur, Uttar Pradesh,, during Ram Lila celebrations on 17th October 1991, two bombs exploded, the first at the performance ground and the second near the hospital where the injured were being taken. More than 40 people were reported killed and around 140 were injured. Later accounts say that Khalistani groups claimed responsibility. Rudrapur matters in this history because it shows that the same insurgent ecosystem could target Hindu civilians beyond Punjab’s borders while still working within the logic of communal intimidation.
Then came Harkishanpura on 11th March 1992. Reports suggest that 16 Hindu workers were killed by militants. The victims were factory employees, and the terrorists may have been disguised as police, while some accounts link the attack to defiance of a militant shutdown order. Men at work were executed in a factory setting because they belonged to the targeted civilian pool the insurgency had repeatedly marked out.
The victims were commuters, workers and families
The dead in these massacres were not only “passengers” or “civilians” in the abstract. They were women carrying children on buses, men going to shrines, labourers at kilns, RSS volunteers at morning exercises, market-goers, factory hands, migrants, and office-bound commuters. Lalru alone killed women and children; Muktsar spared some women and children while killing the remaining men, which in its own way reveals how carefully the terrorists calibrated terror for symbolic effect. The selection was meant to be seen, remembered and retold by survivors.
Many attacks also show how crude visible markers became instruments of life and death. In Muktsar, Sikh passengers identifiable by their turbans and beards were ordered off the bus, while a clean-shaven Sikh appears to have died because he was taken for a Hindu. In Sohian, passengers were reportedly shot because they “appeared” to be Hindu. The violence therefore did not just target bodies; it targeted the social recognisability of religious identity in a mixed society. The attacker’s question was not who had done what, but who looked like whom.
This is also why these massacres cannot be brushed aside as unfortunate collateral damage in a wider conflict between terrorists and the state. The recurring method points in the opposite direction. Vehicles were intercepted. Passengers were questioned. Religious identity was checked. Some were released and others were shot. Bombs were sometimes added to magnify panic or kill rescuers, as in Moga and Rudrapur. The closer one stays to the documented mechanics, the harder it becomes to deny the communal design.
The rupture did not fully succeed, but the memory faded
The militants wanted something larger than murder. They wanted rupture: a Punjab in which Hindu and Sikh everyday life could no longer look normal, and an India in which every atrocity might trigger an answering atrocity somewhere else. There were moments when they came frighteningly close. The Muktsar killings were followed by Hindu-Sikh rioting in west Delhi, and the Hoshiarpur massacre triggered fears of fresh reprisals. But the project never fully succeeded. Many Sikhs rejected the separatist campaign, and many paid with their lives. Longowal’s murder remains the most famous example, but he was not the only one.
To say that Khalistani terrorists organised massacres of Hindu civilians is not to indict Sikhs but to name the perpetrators correctly. In fact, the historical record itself demands that distinction, because the insurgency also killed Sikh politicians, Sikh policemen, Sikh dissenters and Sikh civilians deemed insufficiently obedient. The men who stopped buses and trains were trying to manufacture a civilisational divide that Punjab’s social life had long resisted.
What has happened since is a quieter injustice. Some incidents, like Moga, still have a memorial site. Most survive in public recall as place-names and casualty figures. The names of many victims are harder to recover than the biographies of the militants who killed them. Even where documentation survives, it is often fragmented. A newspaper clipping here, a district memorial there, a later chronology elsewhere. The result is that the dead remain present in numbers but strangely absent in personality.
So one returns to the bus at Lalru, the bus at Muktsar, the bus near Hoshiarpur, the halted trains in Ludhiana district, the market at Abohar, and the gathering in Moga. The people there were not combatants. They were not soldiers in uniform, nor men storming a police station, nor armed rivals in a factional feud. They were travelling, working, shopping, exercising, and going home. In those moments, their Hindu identity was made the whole case against them. No honest history of the Punjab insurgency can leave that out.
The Gujarat government has formally moved ahead with the operationalisation of its Anti-Radicalisation Cell (ARC), with the Gujarat State Police Service (SPS) circulating a detailed Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to district and commissionerate offices across the state. On Tuesday, 14th July, the communication, issued by the State Intelligence Bureau from Gandhinagar and signed by D.C.I. (C) Praful Vaniya with the approval of the competent authority, was forwarded to police units across Gujarat for implementation.
OpIndia has learned that the circular sent to district Superintendents of Police and senior range officers stated that the newly established ARC would begin functioning in coordination with local police units, prison authorities, Special Operations Groups (SOG), and State Intelligence Bureau officers. Along with the SOP, the state government also circulated monthly reporting formats that district units would be required to submit to the Intelligence Headquarters by the fifth day of every month.
The move comes months after the Gujarat Home Department approved the creation of more than a hundred new posts for the ARC structure across district and commissionerate offices as part of the 2026-27 service year.
Gujarat government creates a dedicated anti-radicalisation framework
According to the official communication, the Gujarat Home Department approved the creation of 136 new posts across various cadres for establishing the Anti-Radicalisation Cell network throughout the state. Recruitment and deployment for these positions are currently underway.
The ARC has been tasked with preventing the spread of extremist ideologies, identifying individuals vulnerable to radicalisation, carrying out counselling and de-radicalisation interventions, facilitating rehabilitation, and ensuring that individuals do not relapse into extremist networks.
The SOP defines a “radicalised person” as an individual who, driven by extremist ideologies, engages in anti-national activities, attempts to damage the unity and integrity of the country, spreads fear among citizens, or seeks to influence others into accepting extremist beliefs. The document also refers to individuals who attempt to promote hostility towards members of other faiths or propagate the idea that only their religion is correct while others are wrong.
Officials say the framework is intended to provide district police officers with a structured mechanism to detect early warning signs and intervene before individuals become involved in criminal or terrorist activities.
Five-stage model: Prevention, Detection, Intervention, Rehabilitation and Monitoring
As per sources, the SOP lays out a five-stage model for dealing with radicalisation.
The first stage, termed “Prevention”, focuses on monitoring online spaces and preventing the spread of extremist propaganda. Police units have been instructed to monitor social media platforms, online forums, messaging applications and suspicious networks where extremist content may be circulated.
The document specifically calls for monitoring extremist preachers, communal organisations, radicalised prisoners and individuals linked to extremist ideologies. It also mentions maintaining vigilance on influencers associated with Salafi and Wahhabi schools of thought that investigators believe may be exploited by radical networks for recruitment purposes.
District units have additionally been directed to develop intelligence sources in vulnerable areas and maintain close contact with local communities to identify potential threats at an early stage.
The second stage, “Detection”, lays down behavioural, financial and digital indicators that officers should take into account while identifying possible cases of radicalisation.
Among the behavioural indicators mentioned in the SOP are sudden Suddenly growing a beard, wearing a niqab, frequent use of Arabic words, reducing contact with friends and family, expressing intense protest against global events affecting the Muslim community, glorifying terrorists, or exhibiting altered behaviour following foreign travel to conflict-prone regions.
The document also lists certain suspicious activities that may warrant closer scrutiny in conjunction with other intelligence inputs, including procurement of explosive precursors such as ammonium nitrate or potassium nitrate, unexplained visits to isolated locations, frequent communication with individuals located in conflict zones or terror-affected regions, and unusual cash withdrawals.
On the digital front, the SOP asks officers to monitor the use of encrypted communication platforms, participation in extremist online groups, dissemination of extremist propaganda material, and unexplained use of cryptocurrencies by individuals lacking any visible source of income.
The ARC has also been directed to maintain records of radical elements, open dossiers on identified individuals, update those dossiers on a monthly basis and preserve records of criminal cases registered against such persons.
Focus on counselling and reintegration
Unlike purely punitive counter-terror approaches, the Gujarat ARC SOP devotes considerable space to counselling and rehabilitation.
Under the “Intervention” phase, district authorities have been directed to identify influential community leaders, religious scholars, psychologists, educators, social media influencers and non-governmental organisations who could assist in de-radicalisation efforts.
The SOP recommends counselling sessions involving family members, religious experts, psychiatrists and trained departmental personnel. It also specifically mandates that the identity of individuals undergoing counselling be kept confidential.
Authorities have further been instructed to facilitate the return of such individuals to education or employment opportunities and maintain regular contact with them following intervention.
However, the document clarifies that if an individual proceeds to commit or prepare for a cognisable offence despite counselling and intervention efforts, legal action must be initiated under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The fourth phase of the framework focuses on rehabilitation and reintegration through seminars, community policing programmes, sports competitions, skill development initiatives and job fairs.
The final stage involves long-term monitoring of individuals who have undergone de-radicalisation programmes to prevent re-radicalisation. Monthly activity reports are to be maintained initially, with periodic monitoring continuing thereafter.
Monthly reporting system introduced
The SOP has also introduced a detailed reporting structure for district ARC units.
Police authorities will now have to provide monthly data on counselling sessions conducted, the number of individuals undergoing de-radicalisation programmes, new dossiers opened during the month, criminal cases registered against radical elements, seminars and awareness programmes organised, and lecture sessions held in educational or religious institutions.
District units have also been directed to report social media interventions carried out to counter extremist narratives, as well as details of objectionable content identified online and the action taken against such activity.
The Wire raises objections, alleging targeting of Muslims
Soon after details of the SOP surfaced on social media, leftist rag The Wire published a report sharply criticising the guidelines and alleging that the framework disproportionately focuses on Islamist radicalisation while remaining silent on other forms of extremism. The article titled, “For Gujarat Police, Beard, Niqab Make ‘Radicalisation’ Checklist, Cow Vigilantism Doesn’t”
The publication argued that several indicators mentioned in the document, including keeping a beard, wearing a niqab, using Arabic words frequently or undertaking religious practices such as Itikaf, could lead to ordinary Muslims being viewed with suspicion.
Quoting Surat resident Firuz Khan, The Wire wrote: “Should we shave our beards, start punishing ourselves for being born Muslim?”
The publication further argued that the SOP conflates religious identity with security concerns and questioned why the document specifically refers to travel to Afghanistan or the Middle East, the use of encrypted messaging applications such as Signal and Element, and interaction with certain religious institutions or scholars.
The report also criticised the inclusion of instructions requiring police officers to maintain records of madrasa teachers and ascertain whether they have links with extremist organisations.
According to The Wire, the SOP appears “designed to penalise common Muslims” and does not contain similar indicators relating to what it described as “Hindu radicalism” or cow vigilante violence witnessed in different parts of the country over the years.
The publication additionally reported that Gujarat-based journalist Sahal Qureshi claimed he had been warned by police officials after his social media posts about the SOP gained traction online. According to the report, he alleged that he was asked to remove the posts because they could potentially disturb communal harmony in the state.
ARC traces its origins to earlier de-radicalisation discussions
Although the Gujarat ARC formally took shape only recently, the idea itself is not new.
The concept of dedicated de-radicalisation mechanisms gained prominence nationally during a conference of Directors General and Inspectors General of Police held in Gujarat’s Rann of Kutch in 2015, where Telangana Police’s de-radicalisation model was discussed as a possible template for other states.
The issue reportedly came up again during subsequent conferences of senior police officers attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The BJP later included the establishment of an Anti-Radicalisation Cell in its Gujarat Assembly election manifesto and initiated groundwork for its implementation. A task force involving police officials, anti-terror experts and academics was reportedly constituted to study the issue and prepare an institutional framework.
After administrative approvals and budgetary allocations were secured earlier this year, the ARC structure was finally operationalised, culminating in the circulation of the SOP to district units.
Conclusion
With the issuance of the SOP and the creation of dedicated personnel positions, Gujarat has become one of the few states to establish a formal, state-wide anti-radicalisation framework that combines intelligence gathering, counselling, rehabilitation and long-term monitoring under a single mechanism.
While the leftist propaganda outlet alleged that the indicators listed in the SOP disproportionately affect Muslims, the document itself does not identify any particular community as inherently radical or subject to special scrutiny. Instead, the ARC framework is aimed at individuals who engage in or promote extremist ideologies, anti-national activities, religious supremacism, violent mobilisation or attempts to radicalise others, irrespective of their identity.
Many of the behavioural and digital indicators mentioned in the SOP, including glorification of terrorists, association with extremist organisations, participation in online propaganda networks, use of encrypted communication channels by extremist groups, foreign links with conflict regions, and sudden behavioural changes accompanying radicalisation, have featured in several terror investigations and de-radicalisation cases handled by security agencies in India and abroad over the years.
The Gujarat Police SOP seeks to incorporate such patterns into an early-warning framework rather than wait for individuals to graduate from extremist sympathies to criminal action.
The criticism that the document does not mention cow vigilantism or so-called “Hindu radicalism” also overlooks the fact that the ARC SOP operates within a specific definition of radicalisation laid down in the document itself.
The framework is designed around identifying organised ideological radicalisation, extremist recruitment, and pathways that may culminate in terrorism or anti-national activities. Offences arising out of vigilantism, mob violence or communal clashes continue to fall under existing criminal laws and policing mechanisms unless they meet the criteria laid down under the ARC definition.
