ABC Accuses India of Conducting Extensive Intelligence Operations in Australia

Newsreel Asia Insight #255
June 18, 2024

Australian national public media has joined Canada and the United States in expressing serious concerns over India’s alleged covert operations on foreign soil, which they claim threaten their national security. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has accused India of espionage and undermining political integrity in Australia.

ABC’s investigative program, Four Corners, claims that the Indian government is suppressing overseas dissent related to the Khalistan movement, not only in Canada and the U.S. but also in Australia. The program suggests that a pattern has been observed in these countries.

The assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a known Khalistani activist in Vancouver, has been linked to similar tactics, ABC alleges. Canadian officials have accused the Indian government of orchestrating Nijjar’s murder, an accusation that New Delhi has denied.

U.S. authorities also recently said they foiled an alleged Indian plot to assassinate Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil. New Delhi has dismissed the claim. The British newspaper Financial Times reported that U.S. President Joe Biden discussed the matter with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a meeting at the G20 summit in New Delhi in September.

The Australian national public broadcaster cites the example of Harjinder Singh, a Melbourne-based taxi driver and an active supporter of the Khalistan movement, who allegedly received a series of threatening calls. In January 2023, an anonymous caller, speaking Punjabi, warned Singh to cease his referendum activities or face dire consequences. At the time, Singh was helping to organise a non-binding referendum to assess support for Khalistan.

Despite the threats, Singh persisted, only to have Indian authorities allegedly escalate their intimidation tactics by visiting his family in Punjab, issuing grave warnings to halt his activism.

“Several Australian Sikh separatists have told Four Corners that Indian authorities have visited their families in India and threatened them due to their loved ones’ activism overseas,” the report claims.

The ABC report further accuses India of conducting extensive intelligence operations in Australia. Mike Burgess, Australia’s intelligence chief, recently spoke of expelling a “nest of spies” without specifically naming India. According to the report, this group included several Indian intelligence officers operating undercover. The alleged clandestine activity was aimed at infiltrating Australian defense and political institutions, the report claims.

These operations, the report says, potentially undermine Australian sovereignty and jeopardise the safety of its citizens, particularly those of Indian descent. Indian intelligence efforts extended to monitoring and sometimes threatening members of the Indian diaspora in Australia, including politicians and community leaders, ABC alleges.

According to the report, political infiltration extends beyond espionage. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), through its affiliate the Overseas Friends of the BJP (OFBJP), has actively sought to influence political outcomes in Australia by placing its members in significant political positions, it claims. ABC compares India’s alleged foreign influence in Australia’s democratic processes to alleged Russian interference in the United States.

The report further claims that the cultural influence exerted by the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) in Australia, linked to India’s Hindu nationalist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has been a point of contention. The HSS organises camps and activities designed to instill a Hindu nationalist ideology among young Indian-Australians, which some critics argue could create division within Australia’s multicultural society.

Australia’s strategic relationship with India, primarily shaped by economic ties and counterbalancing China’s regional dominance, complicates the response to these allegations, the report notes. While Australia continues to enhance its economic and defense cooperation with India, it must also address the challenges posed by India’s alleged actions on its soil, ABC suggests.

The Australian government says it is committed to maintaining national security and upholding laws against foreign interference. Statements from government officials have stressed that Australia values diversity and inclusion and will protect the rights and safety of all its citizens, regardless of their background, ABC concludes.

Avani Dias, the South Asia bureau chief for ABC, left India as the 2024 national election began, saying she was finding it “too difficult to do my job.” She alleged restrictions imposed on her reporting by the Indian government.