Transnational Repression Resource Guide
What is Transnational Repression?
The FBI defines Transnational Repression (TNR) as “when foreign governments reach beyond their borders” to silence dissidents and members of their diaspora or exiled communities via harassment, threat of harm or direct harm. TNR can take the following forms:
Transnational Repression & India
Under the right-wing Hindutva regime led by Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Indian intelligence agencies as well as its Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) have led concerted efforts to harass, surveil, intimidate, harm and even murder its critics abroad. Civil society actors, journalists, and American politicians have been targeted by Indian-intelligence ran misinformation campaigns.
Disinformation campaigns across social media, attacking human rights defenders critical of the Narendra Modi government have been sponsored and supported by leadership of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as well as a constellation of right wing Hindu Nationalist groups. In December 2023, the Washington Post exposed an Indian-intelligence run disinformation unit called ‘Disinfo Labs’. Sunita Vishwanath, HfHR’s Executive Director, was the central focus of a Disinfo Lab report, and online trolling by vast networks of right wing nationalists. Their reports have been cited at Capitol Hill and have also sought to malign American Congresspeople such as Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash), who have publicly criticized Modi.
Several investigative news outlets have traced this opaque pattern of targeted attacks to a concerted effort to silence anti-Modi activists in acts that have severely undermined the national securities of the US and Canada. The details reveal the involvement of central agencies of the Indian government.
Forms of Repression
Online
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Washington Post has documented BJP’s third-party content creators and online ‘army’ of trollers and doxxers that coordinate targeted social media attacks and intimidation of civil society activists, journalists and opposition leaders.
In 2023, Hindu nationalists, including BJP official Amit Malviya trolled Wall Street Journal reporter Sabrina Siddiqui, prompting a denouncement from the White House.
Hindu nationalists doxxed a number of Indian American students because of their membership in Harvard University’s Palestinian Caucus.
Throughout 2023, the BJP circulated antisemitic conspiracy theories on their official accounts, and directed harassment towards Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR) Executive Director Sunita Viswanath.
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Little evidence exists on widespread usage of surveillance malware by Indian agencies against International actors. However, India is a confirmed purchaser of the Pegasus software, deploying it extensively within its own borders. Also, several cases point to its usage beyond them.
In 2019, an Indian couple was arrested and charged with espionage for surveilling Kashmiri and Sikh diaspora members in Germany
Devices in the UK’s Foreign Office were infected with the spyware Pegasus. Some of these attacks originated from servers in India, suggesting the Indian government’s involvement.
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Domestic laws such as the IT Amendment Rules, 2023, virtually grant the central government sweeping powers to censor content online that it deems false or propaganda. This law establishes a ‘fact-checking’ unit of the government that gives it power to decide which information should be removed from the public sphere or not.
In September 2020, the offices of Amnesty International and Oxfam India were raided by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Income Tax Department.
In October 2023, the Indian government withheld the Twitter/X accounts of major human rights organizations, Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) and HfHR.
In March 2023, prominent Sikh Canadians, including Rupi Kaur and Jagmeet Singh, reported that their content on Twitter/X was withheld by the Indian government.
In February 2023, the BBC’s Mumbai and Delhi offices were raided by the Indian government after the network released a documentary criticizing Modi’s rise to power.
Offline
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Critics of the Indian government living abroad, and their families in India, may experience several forms of legal intimidation.
Weaponization of immigration system
The Indian government has refused entry to individuals with an Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) and even suspended the OCIs of critics of the Indian government. The Indian government has also refused visas to human rights activists. Finally, the Indian government has suspended the passports of journalists, activists, and students, rendering these individuals stateless.
In 2022, Vice journalist Angad Singh, an OCI holder, was deported from Delhi airport. Singh previously made documentaries about India’s COVID crisis and the 2020-2021 Farmers’ protest.
In 2022, Sweden resident and prominent Modi critic Ashok Swain had his OCI revoked by the Indian government. No reason was given for the revocation.
In 2023, the Middle East Eye reported that the Indian government suspended the passports of at least 10 Kashmiri journalists, students and activists, including individuals living abroad.
Arbitratry questioning and detention of family members
Kashmiri Americans who advocate for human rights in Kashmir have alleged that their families in Kashmir have been detained or questioned arbitrarily because of their advocacy.
Suspension of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) Accounts
Several American and international NGOs have had their FCRA accounts suspended because of their criticisms of the Indian government. FCRA Accounts are required to operate in India.
In 2017, a bipartisan group of senators led by Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana raised the weaponization of FCRA, especially against Christian groups, with the Trump Administration.
In 2020, India suspended Amnesty International’s FCRA account, froze the organization's bank assets, and forced Amnesty India to cease operations.
In 2022, the Indian government suspended Oxfam’s account and opened an investigation into the NGO for alleged illegal transactions to civil society groups.
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In 2023, IAMC led a coalition of organizations expressing alarm about Hindu nationalists who filmed and took pictures of participants at an anti-Modi protest, including IAMC and HfHR staff.
In June 2023, Avtar Singh Khanda, a 35 year old Sikh activist, died in a Birmingham hospital. Associates and family members allege poisoning as the cause of his death. They have not received medical reports that confirm a leukemia diagnosis that is said to be the cause of his death
Also in June 2023, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau publicly accused the Indian government of having a hand in the brutal assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, also a prominent Sikh activist, outside a Sikh temple in Vancouver.
In July 2023, Federal prosecutors alleged that Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national, was involved in an assassination plot against Sikh activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, General Counsel for Sikhs for Justice.
Who’s Involved?
All mentions here are journalistic investigations that have been appropriately cited and presented as alleged evidence as they appear.
Indian Ministry of External Affairs
An April 2023 memo obtained by the Intercept instructs Indian consulates in North America to act against “anti-India propaganda” calling for consulates to coordinate with Indian intelligence agencies. The MEA has restricted entries of BJP critics holding OCIs. The Ministry of Home Affairs issues FCRAs and therefore determines whether or not INGOs can operate in India.
Central Reserve Police Force / Police Apparatus
An unnamed government employee, named CC-1 is mentioned in the DoJ indictment. He confessed to being a “Senior Field Officer” with having responsibilities in “Security management” and “intelligence”. With a past in India’s Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). The CRPF is mandated by the Home Ministry in India, that is run by BJP leader and Modi’s ‘right hand man’, Amit Shah. CC-1 also claimed to have contact with the police in the state of Gujarat over the attempted assassination.
Indian Intelligence Agencies
The Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) (foreign intelligence), the Intelligence Bureau (IB) (internal intelligence) and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) (counter-terror police force) are all cited in a memo that calls to tackle “anti-India propaganda” abroad. Intelligence-backed groups like Disinfo Labs have weaponized misinformation. The NIA have also led raids at foreign agencies like the BBC.
Government Agencies
The Income Tax Department, CBI have been central to raiding the premises of INGOs and international news bureaus critical of the Modi government. Their arbitrary implementation of certain laws has severely restricted the financial operations of organizations.
Seeking Help?
If you are in the US, including any US territory, report it to the FBI using the following contact details:
Contact the FBI online at tips.fbi.gov.
Call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324).
Find your local FBI field office
The FBI defines a threat as the following: “If someone communicates any statement or indication of an intention to inflict pain, injury, damage, or other hostile action in an illegal manner, to include in a manner that manipulates the U.S. legal system, that’s a threat. Find more information at FBI’s ‘Threat Intimidation Guide.’
HfHR and Transnational Repression
Press release: Hindus for Human Rights Responds to Allegations of Indian Government Involvement in Assassination of Canadian Sikh Leader
Joint letter: Joint Letter to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on transnational repression
Joint report: “Virtually Vulnerable: Exposing the Human Cost of Digital Harassment”
Press release: BJP Bans Our Twitter Account in India
Just Security: “Beyond Alleged Assassination Plots: India’s Modi is Silencing US Critics Digitally Too”
House Foreign Affairs Committee Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission: “Joint Statement Submitted for the Record”
Important Resources/Further Reading
FBI Explainer: Transnational Repression
Sikh Coalition: “Sikh Coalition Publishes New Report on Transnational Repression”
Human Rights Watch report: ‘We Will Find You’: A Global Look At How Governments Repress Nationals Abroad
Washington Post: “Covert Indian Operation Seeks to Discredit Modi’s Critics in the U.S.”
ThePrint: “Not Soros Agent, I am a Practising Hindu Woman Against Hindu Nationalism: Sunita Vishwanath”
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom: “USCIRF is Deeply Concerned by India’s Transnational Repression Against Religious Minorities”
Freedom House: “Transnational Repression in 2023: Insecure Leaders Threaten Dissent Abroad”
Freedom House: “No Way In Or Out: Authoritarian Controls on the Freedom of Movement”
US State Department: “2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practies: India”
House Foreign Affairs Committee Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission: “Rep. Ilhan Omar Statement Submitted for the Record”