India must out-tell adversaries in info warfare’

Lucknow: India must learn to 'out-tell' its adversaries in the information domain as future conflicts will be shaped as much by control of narrative as by battlefield outcomes, said senior strategic and diplomatic experts at a conclave hosted by the Army's Central Command in Lucknow on Saturday.Speaking at the event themed ‘Institutionalising strategic communication as a capability for future preparedness in the emerging information space', former ambassador Yashvardhan Sinha, India's first woman permanent representative to the UN Ruchira Kamboj, and former Army commander Lt Gen (retd) Raj Shukla stressed that information dominance is now a critical pillar of national security. Sinha, a 1981-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer who served for 37 years, began with a personal recollection from a television studio during a past crisis. As breaking news flashed that ‘Karachi has been attacked', even experienced officials were left uncertain about the facts. "The episode underscored how 24/7 news cycles and social media can distort events," he said. Referring to ‘Operation Sindoor', Sinha said India eventually shaped global understanding by presenting satellite imagery and detailed evidence of damage to key Pakistani air bases. However, he acknowledged that in the early phase there was a lag in narrative-building, which Pakistan exploited through disinformation, bots and what he described as ‘narrative laundering' via friendly networks. "Military success alone is not enough, there is a need to dominate the information space," he said. Ruchira Kamboj, a 1987-batch IFS officer, focused on institutional readiness rather than ad-hoc responses. She highlighted improvements in India's fact-checking ecosystem, citing instances where the MEA Fact Check handle, amplified by PIB Fact Check, quickly rebutted rumours about Somaliland recognition and allegations that the US had used Indian bases to strike Iran. "Rapid, transparent responses from trusted sources are central to building public confidence. Communication today often precedes and shapes policy," she said. She cited India's ‘pharmacy of the world' narrative during the Covid-19 pandemic, when vaccine deliveries, including images of an IAF aircraft landing in Bhutan, reinforced India's image as a reliable partner to the Global South. Kamboj distinguished strategic communication from spin or propaganda, insisting it must be factual, timely and anchored in truth. Citing Finland's path to NATO membership, she noted how sustained, transparent messaging can gradually shift public opinion. Lt Gen Raj Shukla, currently a member of the Union Public Service Commission, described strategic communication as the art of leveraging the information domain. He urged officers to understand the dynamics of television, print, podcasts and social media, and cautioned against limiting engagement to ‘Delhi media' while overlooking influential regional platforms. Highlighting the power of framing, Shukla recounted a China-US exchange on the Indo-Pacific in which the phrase ‘freedom of navigation' was reframed as ‘coercion', altering perceptions among military leaders. For India, he said: "Strategic communication must rest on a trinity of ideation, narration and operations working in sync. This would require stronger think tanks, professional media talent and structural reforms, including moving beyond traditional media handling toward a joint directorate general for strategic communication aligned with the Chief of Defence Staff and integrated into national planning."