In a volatile nuclear setting of South Asia, India has built a reputation seen as beyond serious international questioning. While many countries of the West consider India a responsible nuclear state, viewing events closely reveals a tendency to shape narratives to Pakistan’s disadvantage. Although it propagates itself to be a more responsible state, evidence proves that it has also backed efforts to portray Pakistan as an unstable country.
Incidents such as India’s misfiring of a BrahMos in March 2022, a missile across the border into Pakistani territory. A supersonic missile was fired, passed over a distance of 100 kilometers, and ultimately crashed near Mian Channu in Punjab. It took 48 hours before Indian officials released a statement citing a technical problem as the reason for the incident. Such an occurrence in every other region would cause concern worldwide and encourage fast action. Even so, people paid little attention, as most viewed Pakistan, not India, as the bigger threat.
India’s accidental BrahMos missile launch into Pakistan in 2022 barely raised global concern.
According to the 2020 EU DisinfoLab study, it is the outcome of a structured strategy. For about 15 years, the network “Indian Chronicles” has controlled more than 750 fake media sites and around 10 NGOs. The goal is to produce material aimed at ruining Pakistan’s image. This manipulation of the data has been happening in around 116 countries, depicting things like fake news, fake reporters, and impersonating members of the EU. Now, Indian media aims to show that Pakistan fosters terrorism and is encouraging global backing against the country.
Moreover, the recent standoff between India and Pakistan demonstrated that India has not been trained to use jets like Rafale. Yet, it continued to bear false witness on the issue and suggested that Chinese activities caused Indian failure. Such false information is used and spread widely to portray Pakistan’s defense as weak. Both to pollute Pakistan’s reputation around the world as a credible and responsible Nuclear state. It should be noted that Pakistan has caught people like Kulbhushan Yadav, who himself has confessed to Indian involvement in terrorism across Pakistan.
Not only this, but also India’s positioning of its consulates in the surrounding countries of Pakistan also creates prominent suspicions of Indian involvement in promoting terrorism in Pakistan. Also, India spreads this claim by using fake news that Pakistan is always to blame for actions like terrorism, even when India is often involved in it.
The ‘Indian Chronicles’ network ran 750 fake media outlets to malign Pakistan in 116 countries.
Besides, various international organizations have carried out research showing that India uses deception tactics often against Pakistan. In recent years, India has used its increased status on the world stage to impact discussions and typically refers to Pakistan as a major source of terrorism. A study in the Journal of Strategic Studies 2021 reveals that Indian representatives in Washington, London, and Brussels worked hard to gain the needed help from groups such as the UN and FATF to portray Pakistan as a terrorist state. Similarly, a study called “The FATF and Geopolitics: A Case Study of Pakistan” added that although Pakistan moved forward on action items, India’s ambitious diplomacy helped to maintain the country’s greylist status at the FATF by persuading leaders in France and the US to agree.
Many times, the reports repeated the concern that Pakistan was threatening world peace with its nuclear capabilities. At the same time, India was guiding international debates on Pakistan’s Nuclear program and its safety, while the accuser itself was caught multiple times in Nuclear material theft. A proof was a rising number of cases where people smuggled uranium out of the country. In 2021, Indian authorities confiscated 20 kilograms of natural uranium from Maharashtra.
A large number of people losing jobs due to its theft and undercounting were also reported from Jharkhand and West Bengal. This isn’t just a little mistake; it is a major failure for the national security of India. Concern from the international community was limited, once more because the world had already developed a perception that Pakistan might not handle nuclear materials safely.
Militarily, India is quietly boosting its defensive program against Pakistan by adding Russian ships like INS Tushil and INS Tamal, as well as the S-400 defense system. As India is not part of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), its increase in the number of nuclear weapons and other activities posing a regional and international threat mostly go unnoticed compared to the actions of countries that have signed the NPT. This, therefore, questions the credibility of the NPT and its durability for the future.
India’s uranium theft cases reveal a serious lapse in nuclear material security, yet international scrutiny remains minimal.
Their narrative is reflected through the strong expressions that come from both technique and persuasive speeches. In 2019, Rajnath Singh, Indian Defence Minister, said the country could review its No First Use (NFU) policy based on changing circumstances. Former National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon has expressed doubts, saying that “pre-emptive” attacks could happen in certain instances. By claiming such things, leaders are tearing down the very reason why India is considered to have restraint.
Unlike India, Pakistan has not encountered accidental launch events and hasn’t had reports of serious material security breaches. However, the world’s main messages have stuck to their biased stance, partly because of India’s constant online disinformation. The image is only a small part of what’s at stake here. Using Pakistan’s nuclear identity, India dodges taking accountability by destabilizing the region’s fragile situation.
India’s manipulation of FATF proceedings shows how image trumps evidence in international forums.
Substituting image management for policy accountability leads to a situation where how the world sees things drifts further and further apart from the actual situation. It’s important for actors and observers around the world to review their assumptions. India must obey the same rules it makes for others if stability in India’s region and the world’s nuclear safety are important goals. If we allow things to get worse, it may encourage the double standards that could ruin peace.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not represent the views, beliefs, or policies of the Stratheia.
