Intelligence Bureau (India)

Intelligence Bureau
Khüfīya Bureau
Agency overview
Formed	1887
Headquarters	New Delhi
Employees	Classified
Agency executive	Syed Asif Ibrahim, Director Intelligence Bureau
Parent agency	Ministry of Home Affairs
Website	www.mha.nic.in

The Intelligence Bureau (IB) (Devanāgarī: खूफिया ब्यूरो, Khüfīya Bureau) is India's internal intelligence agency and reputedly the world's oldest intelligence agency.^[1] It was recast as the Central Intelligence Bureau in 1947 under the Ministry of Home Affairs. The reason for the perception may be because, in 1885, Major General Sir Charles MacGregor was appointed Quartermaster General and head of the Intelligence Department for the British Indian Army at Simla. The objective then was to monitor Russian troop deployments in Afghanistan, fearing a Russian invasion of British India through the North-West during the late 19th century.

In 1909, the Indian Political Intelligence Office was established in England in response to the development of Indian revolutionary activities, which came to be called the Indian Political Intelligence (IPI) from 1921. This was a state-run surveillance and monitoring agency. The IPI was run jointly by the India Office and the Government of India and reported jointly to the Secretary of the Public and Judicial Department of the India Office, and the Director of Intelligence Bureau (DIB) in India, and maintained close contact with Scotland Yard and MI5.

Serving since December 2012, Syed Asif Ibrahim is the current director of the IB, the first Muslim to hold the position.^[2]

Responsibilities

Shrouded in secrecy, the IB is used to garner intelligence from within India and also execute counter-intelligence and counter-terrorism tasks. The Bureau comprises employees from law enforcement agencies, mostly from the Indian Police Service (IPS) and the military. However, the Director of Intelligence Bureau (DIB) has always been an IPS officer. In addition to domestic intelligence responsibilities, the IB is particularly tasked with intelligence collection in border areas, following the 1951 recommendations of the Himmatsinhji Committee (also known as the North and North-East Border Committee), a task entrusted to military intelligence organisations prior to independence in 1947. All spheres of human activity within India and in the neighborhood are allocated to the charter of duties of the Intelligence Bureau. The IB was also tasked with other external intelligence responsibilities as of 1951 until 1968, when the Research and Analysis Wing was formed. The current chief of the organisation is Syed Asif Ibrahim a 1977 batch IPS cadre.^[3]

Activities

Understanding of the shadowy workings of the IB is largely speculative. Many a times even their own family members are unaware of their whereabouts. One known task of the IB is to clear licences to amateur radio enthusiasts. The IB also passes on intelligence between other Indian intelligence agencies and the police. The Bureau also grants the necessary security clearances to Indian diplomats and judges before they take the oath. On rare occasions, IB officers interact with the media during a crisis situation. The IB is also rumoured to intercept and open around 6,000 letters daily. It also has an email spying system similar to FBI's Carnivore system.^[4] The Bureau is also authorised to conduct wiretapping without a warrant.^[5]

Workings

The Class 1 (Gazetted) officers carry out coordination and higher-level management of the IB. Subsidiary Intelligence Bureaus (SIBs) are headed by officers of the rank of Joint Director or above, but smaller SIBs are also sometimes headed by Deputy Directors. The SIBs have their units at district headquarters headed by Deputy Central Intelligence Officers (DCIOs). The IB maintains a large number of field units and headquarters (which are under the control of Joint or Deputy Directors). It is through these offices and the intricate process of deputation that a very organic linkage between the state police agencies and the IB is maintained. In addition to these, at the national level the IB has several units (in some cases SIBs) to keep track of issues like terrorism, counter-intelligence, VIP security, threat assessment and sensitive areas (i.e. Jammu and Kashmir and such). IB officers (like their counterparts in R&AW ) get monthly special pays and an extra one-month salary every year, as well as better promotions. Apart from the IPS and IAS, IB also recruits from the Indian Revenue Service (IRS).^[6]

Constitutionality

IB was created on 23 December 1887, by the then British Secretary of State as a sub-sect of the Central Special Branch but there is no act of the Indian parliament nor executive order relating to the functioning of the IB. In 2012, a PIL was filed challenging the legality of IB.^[7]

Ranks and insignia

Insignia of Director Intelligence Bureau

Ranks of Gazetted Officers (Group 'A')

• Director Intelligence Bureau (post held by senior most Indian Police Service officer; and the only 4 star equivalent to Armed Forces Generals in terms of insignia. However it's a post and not a rank.)
• Special Director (equivalent to Director General of Police)
• Additional. Director (equivalent to Additional Director General of Police)
• Joint Director (equivalent to Inspector General of Police)
• Deputy Director (equivalent to Deputy Inspector General of Police)
• Joint Deputy Director(equivalent to Senior Superintendent of Police )
• Assistant Director (equivalent to Superintendent of Police )
• Deputy Central Intelligence Officer (equivalent to Additional Superintendent of Police )
• Assistant Central Intelligence Officer Grade-I (equivalent to Assistant Superintendent of Police / Deputy Superintendent of Police (After 3 years of service) )

Ranks of Officers in (Group 'B')

• Assistant Central Intelligence Officer Grade-II (equivalent to Inspector of Police).
• Junior Intelligence Officer Grade-I (equivalent to Sub Inspector of Police).

Ranks of Officers in (Group 'C')

• Junior Intelligence Officer Grade-II (equivalent to Assistant Sub Inspector of Police).
• Senior Security Assistant (equivalent to Head constable of Police).
• Security Assistant (equivalent to constable of Police).

There are different ranks of executives which adhere for managing and executing the goals of the organisation. Sometimes executives are compared with state police service ranks which are different from the ranks in IB.

Operations

The Intelligence Bureau reportedly has a lot of successes to its credit, but operations conducted by the IB are rarely declassified. Due to the extreme secrecy surrounding the agency, there is little concrete information available about it or its activities. The IB was trained by the Soviet KGB from the 1950s on wards until the collapse of the soviet union.

The IB was initially India's internal and external intelligence agency. Due to lapses on the part of the Intelligence Bureau to predict the Sino-Indian War of 1962, and later on, intelligence failure in the India-Pakistan War in 1965, it was bifurcated in 1968 and entrusted with the task of internal intelligence only. The external intelligence branch was handed to the newly created Research and Analysis Wing.

The IB has had mixed success in counter-terrorism. It was reported in 2008 that the IB had been successful in busting terror modules. It alerted the police before the Hyderabad blasts and gave repeated warnings of a possible attack on Mumbai through the sea before the November 2008 Mumbai attacks. On the whole, however, the IB came in for some sharp criticism by the media after the relentless wave of terror attacks in 2008. The government came close to sacking top intelligence officials soon after 26/11 attacks because of serious lapses that led to the 2008 Mumbai attacks.^[8] Heavy politics, under-funding and a shortage of professional field agents are the chief problems facing the agency. The overall strength of the agency is believed to be around 25,000, with 3500-odd field agents operating in the entire country. Of these, many are engaged in political intelligence.^[9][10]

Media portrayal

The Intelligence Bureau has been depicted in films such as Vande Matharam (Tamil, 2010), Bad Aur Badnaam (Hindi, 1984), Kahaani (Hindi, 2012), Jism 2 (Hindi, 2012), Mukhbiir(Hindi,2008). Thuppaki (Tamil, Telugu, 2012) and Madras Cafe (Hindi,2013).

See also

• CBI
• R&AW
• NIA

References

Footnotes

• "THE INDIAN POLICE SERVICE (UNIFORM) RULES". 1954. 
• "World Intelligence and Security Agencies". December,2006.  Check date values in: |date= (help)

Further reading

• MacGregor, Lady (Ed.) The Life and Opinions of Major-General Sir Charles MacGregor. 2 vols. 1888, Edinburgh
• MacGregor, General Sir Charles. The Defence of India. Simla: Government of India Press. 1884
• Kulkarni, Sin of National Conscience,2005.

External links

• The Intelligence Bureau: India’s Prime Intelligence Agency By Maloy Krishna Dhar

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