China has spent huge sums of money to buy influence in India’s universities, social institutions, research think tanks, film world and social media thereby posing a threat to national security and democracy.
Making this assertion in its research report titled ‘Mapping Chinese Footprints and Influence Operation in India,’ a Delhi-based think tank, Law and Society Alliance 3, has tried to identify how deep and extensive the Chinese foothold in India is.
Outlining the point that China has gone for its warfare doctrine of winning without fighting, the report released this weekend said China has also invested huge sums of money in the technology industry of India.
The report covers a wide range of topics and identifies key elements and ways in which Chinese intelligence services and the Chinese Government have entrenched themselves into various Indian sectors.
Besides highlighting the Indian industries and areas where China has over the years increased its influence through strategic investments, the report also touches upon Beijing’s hidden agenda in increasing its influence to shape the opinion of the common man, the voters, in India.
Through a combination of financial investments, as seen in the entertainment industry, to propaganda in the socio-political realm through Confucius Institutes, Beijing is using every trick in its playbook to make in-roads into the Indian economy and society in order to try and advance its own selfish narrative and to create discord within the Indian society with regard to China’s actions and motives.
China has been using subtle tactics to spread its influence and propaganda on not just India, but also its neighbours and the world at large, the report said.
Global powers such as the United States, Canada and Australia have already recognised this growing trend and taken concrete steps to minimise Beijing’s influence on their societies, it said.