For the first time, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, a body set up by the US Congress, has named R&AW, the government’s external intelligence wing, as a threat to religious freedom in India. R&AW has been included by the commission along with the RSS, which has been mentioned for the last several years. The Commission has, in fact, repeatedly recommended for that India be placed on the Country of Particular Concern watchlist.

Incidentally, the capture of six Ukrainians and one US citizen, who travelled without the necessary government permission to Mizoram, and imported a huge consignment of drones from Europe has come as a boon to India. The foreign nationals are yet to be granted consular access and the Indian media speculates whether their mission was to train ethnic groups in the Northeast states or in the border region of Myanmar, or both. Last week, Home Minister Amit Shah said that they posed no threat and were probably passing through and were headed to Myanmar for terrorist training. Nevertheless, the Indian government could use the American, Mathew VanDyke, rumoured to be a CIA asset, as a bargaining chip........

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