Suitable application of HUMINT, duly integrated with modern surveillance technology and processing capacity, will greatly enhance situational awareness, assist in the decision support system and lead to better decision-making

It is well known that during the time of I.K. Gujral as the Prime Minister the government banned development of trans-border human intelligence (HUMINT) sources. What is not known is that this naiveté has been compounded by successive governments in not reversing the decision, which is out of sync with ground realities of the 21st century requirements.

Talk to retired officials of intelligence agencies and they confirm this. HUMINT has been moribund in India ever since. We fail to understand that HUMINT will continue to be the heart, soul and brain of 21st century intelligence, on the same analogy that importance of the ‘man behind the machine’ should never be relegated. Not only does HUMINT enhance asymmetric advantage of our adversaries it is actually laughable to patronize this supposedly Satyug posture while wallowing in corruption, sleaze and deceit otherwise.

Even the Defence Intelligence Agency, which has a mandate to operate trans-border human sources is denied permission to do so and directed to rely solely on technical intelligence (TECHINT). India does not understand the value of human intelligence, especially in achieving asymmetric advantage in the face of non-traditional threats and there are no signs of an effort to make amends. What a happy state for China and Pakistan.

Reliance on TECHINT alone is wholly inadequate albeit it is convenient to obfuscate lack of a coherent intelligence strategy in general and voids of inter-agency synergy in particular. We are unwisely spending crores on TECHINT while spending relatively nothing on HUNINT. This is the root cause for our inability to strategise and cope with irregular and asymmetric threats, both national and transnational. This has not only affected covert intelligence gathering but also counter intelligence. We do not even exploit open source intelligence including capitalising on the considerable Indian diasporas abroad.

Within the country, while media encourages the citizen journalist concept, the establishment has no such concept – the feasibility of ‘billion eyes on the ground’ has never been explored. Hence, inadequate intelligence even in the case of the Maoist insurgency has created the biggest fault line in India. The powers that be need to educate themselves on the nuances and advantages of HUMINT, at the strategic, operational and tactical levels, that even signal intelligence (SIGINT) and open source intelligence (OSINT) are linked to HUMINT and HUMINT will continue to play significant role in both defensive protection and offensive penetration of cyberspace.

The ambivalence and ambiguity of our hierarchy of course is understandable, for how do you task your intelligence agencies in the absence of a national security strategy and national security objectives? This is despite continuing calls by eminent strategists, like the late K. Subramanyam to act up and fill these voids. How do you evolve a national intelligence acquisition plan and task your intelligence agencies when we are still struggling to evolve an integrated intelligence set up? But we can’t have them sitting idle either, can we?

No wonder an erstwhile Intelligence Bureau official pens in his book that no matter who is in power in India, the entire intelligence effort is focused on how to do down the opposition. Disregarding HUMINT makes us easy targets, earning the label of a ‘soft state’. We need to reinstate primacy of HUMINT in relation to TECHINT, the former costing less, requiring less time and being more responsive in relation to the latter. Without this, we will continue to make decisions in vacuum and without holistic intelligence. Suitable application of HUMINT, duly integrated with modern surveillance technology and processing capacity, will greatly enhance situational awareness, assist in the decision support system and lead to better decision-making.