Indian Strategic Culture Exploited by Pakistani Analysts Through Disinformation Campaigns

India's Strategic Gaps: A Reflection of Pakistan's Perceptions

In recent years, Indian defence strategies have been under scrutiny, not only by its adversaries but also by its own strategic culture. Two recent papers published in Pakistani strategic journals offer an insightful look into India's national-security strategy, highlighting areas where India falls short in the eyes of its critics. The papers, which focus on information warfare and India's Atmanirbharta doctrine, provide a unique perspective on India's strategic gaps and the opportunities for improvement.

The first paper, "Weaponizing Information: A Study of Disinformation and Information Warfare between India and Pakistan," published in the Margalla Papers journal, examines the information war surrounding the 2019 Pulwama crisis and the 2025 conflict. The authors, Gull-e-Areeba and Ahmed Waqas Waheed, employ a social constructivist methodology to analyze the narrative around India's disinformation and propaganda efforts. Their analysis reveals that India's strategic culture allows Pakistan to interpret events and advance its security perceptions.

Similarly, the second paper, "Political Construction of Atmanirbharta under Modi: Challenges and Constraints," published in the Strategic Perspectives journal, uses a social constructivist approach to analyze the narrative around India's Atmanirbharta doctrine. The authors view this policy as an expression of identity politics and highlight the challenges and constraints of implementing such a doctrine.

India's Response to Critiques

India's response to the critiques of its strategic narrative should be a substantial body of research that documents similar accusations against Pakistan. For instance, a 2026 paper by Lt Gen D.S. Hooda and Lt Col Pavithran Rajan provides an in-depth understanding of contemporary information warfare, which is increasingly reliant on socio-technical-cognitive systems. Similarly, a 2025 report by the Observer Research Foundation on Pakistan's information-warfare ecosystem and its implications for India offers valuable insights.

India should build its own research-informed strategic narratives that seek to document not only Pakistan's accusations but also regional security dynamics at large. This requires timely, effective, and easily verifiable dissemination of information. At the time of a crisis, a single misleading official statement, unsubstantiated TV commentary, or an uncorroborated tweet can fuel adversarial narratives for years.

Credibility Gaps in Defence-Industrial Policy

Critiques of India's defence-industrial policy may include both unsubstantiated allegations and hard facts that cannot be ignored. India's CAG reports series contain many examples of defence procurement and R&D contracts that involved significant delays, cost overruns, and/or technology shortcomings. For example, a 2015 CAG audit highlighted that all 14 DRDO Mission Mode Projects were delivered either delayed or exceeded their budget, and some failed to meet user requirements.

India must address these credibility gaps by fixing defence-industry vulnerabilities and providing verifiable examples of technological self-sufficiency. This requires a concerted effort to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of defence procurement and R&D processes.

Atmanirbharta: A Military-Industrial Imperative

India's Atmanirbharta narrative is inherently linked to Modi's political capital, both nationally and internationally. However, Pakistan's critiques highlight not only the domestic popularity of this campaign but also its military-industrial shortcomings. This is not surprising, given that Atmanirbharta encompasses not only military capabilities but also India's broader economic and strategic ambitions.

India must demonstrate its military-industrial capabilities to build strategic partnerships, promote domestic manufacturing, and supply critical technologies to third-party countries. The more India demonstrates its military-industrial capabilities, the less Atmanirbharta will be conflated with India's domestic politics.

Disinformation and Strategic Deception

The challenge of disinformation and strategic deception will increasingly shape India's diplomacy and multilateral engagements. Therefore, India needs strategic principles that articulate its red lines on measures to build strategic trust in the information domain. For example, future India-Pakistan CBMs negotiations may involve confidence-building measures (CBMs) in the information domain, such as joint commissions on disinformation, rapid reaction mechanisms to false information, etc.

Verifiable On-the-Ground Evidence

Deepfakes, videos, and images of alleged events can go viral in a matter of hours and impact strategic decision-making. At the state level, such evidence requires thorough fact-checking by official resources, and foreign governments, journalists, and researchers must be able to trust this process. India must invest in building technical verification expertise while also engaging with academia, media, and international fact-checking organisations to ensure that its information-security practices meet global standards.

Key Takeaways

• India's strategic gaps, as highlighted by Pakistani analysts, provide opportunities for improvement in areas such as information warfare and defence-industrial policy.
• India must address credibility gaps by fixing defence-industry vulnerabilities and providing verifiable examples of technological self-sufficiency.
• Atmanirbharta is a military-industrial imperative that requires India to demonstrate its capabilities to build strategic partnerships, promote domestic manufacturing, and supply critical technologies to third-party countries.
• India needs strategic principles that articulate its red lines on measures to build strategic trust in the information domain.
• India must invest in building technical verification expertise to ensure that its information-security practices meet global standards.