The CIA has long been known to operate secret bases globally, including in India, where they have reportedly been involved in intelligence efforts against China. – Abhijeet Kumar
Recently declassified documents related to the 1963 assassination of President John F Kennedy indicate that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) maintained secret bases in New Delhi and Kolkata. These records, released by the US National Archives and Records Administration, shed light on the agency’s covert operations in India and several other locations worldwide.
According to the declassified documents, the CIA’s New York division oversaw secret bases in multiple locations, including New Delhi and Kolkata in India, Rawalpindi in Pakistan, Colombo in Sri Lanka, Tehran in Iran, Seoul in South Korea, and Tokyo in Japan. Some of these sites have been subjects of legal scrutiny, with allegations that detainees were held without formal charges or trials.
The US National Archives released approximately 2,200 previously classified documents on its website, following an order by former President Donald Trump. This is part of a broader collection of over six million pages of records, photographs, and other materials related to the Kennedy assassination, most of which had already been made public.
The CIA’s secret facilities, often referred to as “black sites,” have historically been used for intelligence activities, including surveillance, espionage, and, in some instances, the detention and interrogation of suspected terrorists. The agency has long been known to operate such bases globally, including in Ukraine, where they have reportedly been involved in intelligence efforts against Russia.
India’s historical ties with the CIA
India has had a history of engagement with the CIA, particularly during the Cold War era. In 2013, a declassified document revealed that India had permitted the US to use the Charbatia airbase in Odisha for refuelling CIA-operated U-2 spy planes during surveillance missions over Chinese territory in 1962.
After independence, India sought American assistance in developing its intelligence framework. In 1949, India’s Intelligence Bureau director, T G Sanjeevi, collaborated with the CIA, primarily to monitor Communist China. Following China’s annexation of Tibet in 1950, India, with CIA support, aided Tibetan resistance fighters.
The CIA also played a key role in facilitating the Dalai Lama’s escape to India in 1959. After the 1962 border conflict with China, the agency provided further intelligence support, including establishing a secret military base in Charbatia, Odisha, for U-2 reconnaissance flights over Chinese territory. – Business Standard, 19 March 2025
› Abhijeet Kumar is a senior writer for Busness Standard in Delhi.
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