On March 25, 2025, the United States Commission on Human Rights released a bombshell report that has shaken the foundations of India’s so-called democratic image. For years, human rights defenders and minority communities have sounded the alarm on covert operations carried out by India’s intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). This time, it’s not just whispers from the shadows. It’s cold, hard documentation from an international authority. The report lays bare a disturbing architecture of oppression, placing RAW at the heart of an expansive and systematic campaign targeting India’s minorities (Sikhs, Muslims, Dalits, and Christians) with tactics that read more like wartime strategy than domestic governance. Extrajudicial killings, disinformation warfare, illegal surveillance, and media manipulation are not isolated abuses-they are institutionalized tools wielded by RAW under state sanction. Created to serve as India’s external intelligence agency, RAW has, according to the report, morphed into an internal enforcer-a clandestine instrument of political and sectarian control. The Commission documents over 1,100 extrajudicial killings of dissenting minority leaders, killings carried out under the guise of national security or labelled as “encounters” with vague, unverifiable threats. These killings are not random acts of violence. They are targeted, deliberate, and coordinated-a silent genocide unfolding under the cover of democracy. The Commission calls it what it is: state-sanctioned brutality. India’s minority communities have experienced a 70% increase in violence over the past three years. This should alarm any global observer who still believes in India’s commitment to secularism and human rights. The US Commission directly links RAW to over 1,200 hate crimes, pointing to evidence that the agency not only failed to prevent these acts but actively fomented division and extremism to justify repressive measures. India’s minority communities have experienced a 70% increase in violence over the past three years. Hate is no longer a by-product of fringe politics in India. It is now a calculated instrument of governance. Moreover, the report reveals how RAW’s operations extend beyond violence. The agency has been systematically involved in data manipulation, misreporting crime statistics, and crafting false narratives that paint minorities as threats and extremists. International media and human rights agencies have been targeted in disinformation campaigns, designed to discredit legitimate criticism and maintain an illusion of stability. Another grim revelation is RAW’s collusion with government-insider media outlets to suppress critical voices. Dissenters, activists, journalists, and academics who question government policy have been branded “anti-national,” silenced through legal harassment, digital surveillance, or in more severe cases, outright elimination. India, under the guise of democratic legitimacy, is waging a covert war on its people. RAW has become the hidden hand of state terror, eroding human rights not only within India but across international borders. The Commission warns that India’s actions represent a growing threat to regional peace, religious freedom, and global norms. This cannot be dismissed as an “internal matter.” If the world remains silent, it emboldens authoritarianism, not just in India but everywhere democracy is under siege. The international community, including the United Nations, the International Criminal Court, Amnesty International, and democratic governments, must act. Sanctions, independent investigations, and targeted diplomatic pressure are not only justified but necessary to uphold the values that India claims to represent. No state should be allowed to cloak violence in patriotism. No agency should be permitted to weaponize intelligence against its citizens. And no democracy should be exempt from accountability. The writer is a freelance columnist.