How India surveils its citizens

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Editor's note: Josy Joseph wasn’t too surprised when he heard about the Pegasus revelations in July. The veteran journalist and author, who has covered military and national security agencies for three decades, had long known of their surreptitious ways of intelligence gathering. At times, he was at the receiving end himself.  In 2005, Joseph uncovered an elaborate operation on how national secrets were being smuggled out of a top-secret naval war room in New Delhi. His reports led to an overhaul of the security systems in military installations. But while he was working on the story, he noticed he was being trailed by naval intelligence vehicles. “Those days, it used to be physical,” says Joseph. “They’d stay outside your house and keep a note on movements.” He had an ingenious way to get rid of the tail. “I’d come home to my daughter and wife at night and we’d switch off the lights. The agencies [personnel] would go away assuming we’d slept. Ultimately, they’re government babus. Then I’d come down and take my car and meet my source at a paan shop.” …