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By:

Minal Sancheti

2 May 2026 at 12:26:53 pm

Lost in Transport

Mumbai’s grand transport infrastructure is undermined by potholes, Poor discipline and a last-mile gaps that keeps it crawling Mumbai: It is morning time, and Pawan Khandelwal is all set to leave for work. A creative lead at an ad agency in Malad, Mumbai, Khandelwal should take 12 to 15 minutes to reach the office, but that rarely happens because of the traffic, poor road quality and lack of civic sense among co-drivers on the road. He mostly ends up reaching the office in 30 to 40 minutes....

Lost in Transport

Mumbai’s grand transport infrastructure is undermined by potholes, Poor discipline and a last-mile gaps that keeps it crawling Mumbai: It is morning time, and Pawan Khandelwal is all set to leave for work. A creative lead at an ad agency in Malad, Mumbai, Khandelwal should take 12 to 15 minutes to reach the office, but that rarely happens because of the traffic, poor road quality and lack of civic sense among co-drivers on the road. He mostly ends up reaching the office in 30 to 40 minutes. Khandelwal firmly believes that road construction is not a major issue for traffic. “The road under construction is not a big issue because they usually don’t take very long to repair the roads. But even after their work is done, it is not done perfectly. At times when they are digging up the road for other purposes, they often leave a bump or a pothole,” he said. He gives an example, “One can see it on the western express highway. There are so many bumps. We call it a highway, but we can’t even drive at 15 km/h because it is not fixed properly.” He also blames people for not following traffic rules, which adds to the problem. Traffic Woes Although there are coastal roads and metros available, the traffic still seems to be a problem for many residents. A media professional and a daily commuter, Charlene Flanagan has been travelling in Mumbai for many years now. There is not much difference in her experience of the traffic congestion. From her experience, she believes the coastal roads and metros have not completely accomplished the mission of curbing traffic congestion. She says, “As a resident of Mumbai and as a person with a valid driver’s licence, I would say the traf f ic hasn’t really changed. It is still as congested, and whether the coastal roads have helped depends on the time of the day you leave and whether you are going against the traffic or along with the traffic.” The pedestrians also face problems. Saloni Mehta, a theatre artiste, says, “I prefer walking to my destinations. For example, I live in Versova, and if I want to see a play in the Prithvi Theatre, I will take a half-hour walk. However, this one time, I could not reach the venue, not just because of the traffic but also because there were no pavements left to walk on. The roads are dug up, and every road is just half a road.” Mumbai’s average speed covered is 5.2 km per 15 minutes. During the peak traffic hours in the morning, when most people travel to their workplace, the average speed is 18.5 km/h. It is important to understand the issue and address it with a solution. Sudhir Badami, an author of the book ‘Matter of Equitability - Making Commuting in Mumbai Enviable’, explains why people still prefer to use cars over metros, “The metro line 3 has definitely taken away some car users. But it has not taken away sufficient numbers of car users to make a difference in the state of road congestion. The reason behind this is essentially the last-mile connectivity in areas where the Aqua Line or Line 7 operates, especially in suburban areas. In the city area, it is supported by good BEST services on the one hand, and taxis being available near the metro stations on the other hand. But most car users still opt for using their cars, as public transport currently does provide assured exclusivity, comfort and good frequency, not forgetting last mile connectivity. The Coastal Road sees very few cars compared to the number of cars on Mumbai’s Roads. Badami, as a transportation analyst, says, “Mumbai has approximately 16 Lakhs motor cars, out of which only about 55,000 seem to be using coastal roads. It is such a minuscule proportion for whom so much has been spent. This is largely because in the city, people don’t go from one end of the city to the other end. They normally start from in between and go somewhere in between. If there is not much time saving for the shorter stretches, then people are not likely to take it, and there will be continued congestion on city roads.” “In general, the necessity of the last-mile connectivity is an important part, but the greater part will be how to get car users onto the public transport,” says Badami. Public transport must provide near exclusivity, comfort and safety to a car-using commuter for migration to take place. This is where the importance of last-mile connectivity is felt. Air Pollution The slow-moving traffic also adds to the air pollution in the city several times more than when they are moving at optimum speeds, he says. Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Mumbai, Anil Kumbhare, denies that there is much traffic congestion in Mumbai as compared to five years back. He credits the coastal roads for curbing the traffic. He says, “Earlier, there used to be bumper-to bumper traffic near Haji Ali. That has come down drastically. As coastal roads shape, the traffic will go down.” He also adds that there is traffic congestion in the morning hours as people are travelling for work. But there is no traffic jam. Although coastal roads have helped, there are still pockets of the city that face traffic congestion every day. This can be solved with careful planning and execution.

The Influence Operations

Updated: Oct 21, 2024

The Influence Operations

“Under the guise of democracy, freedom, and human rights, the United States has used NED (the US-based NGO) for infiltration, interference and subversion against other countries,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry railed against the United States this month! In its report titled ‘The National Endowment for Democracy: What It Is and What It Does,’ China elaborates on US engagement in misleading public opinion, inciting division, meddling in other countries’ internal affairs and promoting a coup. The report also details how the US-funded periodical ‘The Journal of Democracy’ spreads false narratives about the Modi government.

This isn’t the first time China has criticised the U.S. for its Information warfare nor that China has ever attempted one on its own! Information Warfare, Public Opinion Warfare and Legal Warfare are the three fundamental aspects of China’s political guidelines. China, to achieve her middle kingdom dream, has been using these brainwashing techniques since Mao’s time!

China’s stake in the US film industry is so huge that the American star had to apologise for calling Taiwan a country! On the Indian front, China’s hostility towards Ladakh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh has grown ever since China formulated her Five Finger Policy. The insurgencies in these Indian states have roots in communist China. Currently, the Indian state machinery is investigating China-backed ‘The Newsclick’ for stoking farmers’ protests, CAA protests, inciting Delhi riots and carrying out disinformation campaigns on Covid-19!

Influence and subversion are not new concepts. The ‘Mitrokhin Archives’ published by the UK gives a detailed account of how Russia infiltrated Indira Gandhi’s government back then.

Influence, civic mobilisation and destabilisation strategies have been used in the Great Power game over decades. It is called ‘The Color Revolution’ and is infamous amongst Russia and the Communist bloc since the Cold War. They considered this revolution ‘externally fuelled coordinated acts’ that manipulated the community sentiment and toppled the existing regime. Whereas in the West, this insidious influence to distort democracy is termed as ‘Influence Operations’.

Influence Operations (IOs) are cognitive war techniques wherein psychological, financial, political and technological influence is used to subvert the internal security and sovereignty of the targeted country. The authoritarian states use NGOs and Media houses to carry out long-term infiltration in targeted states. The academicians, journalists, film writers and media personalities are employed to craft strategic messages and fabricated distractions. The troll factories are set up to organise hate movements. These protests are aligned with globally appealing ideologies. The lavishly funded influence campaigns then make headlines in local and foreign media. The digital media is pitched in to legitimate the operation and mobilise larger groups to action. Young students are sent abroad to run propaganda campaigns against their motherland. The foreign diplomats actively participate in the consolidation of the opposition and extremists. And then the diplomatic pressure is built on the existing regime to perish or to be a puppet government!

The recent coup in Bangladesh highlights a typical standard operating procedure of IOs by the West. The Color Revolution history of Serbia, Georgia, Ukraine and Arab Spring exposes the US involvement to a great extent! Recently, the Biden government granted $ 50 million to an anti-Israel NGO on the pretext of saving the planet and fighting inflation! In 2023, Biden’s month-long Iran’s sanctions-relief enriched the anti-Israel front by more than $ 50 Billion!

IOs are now employing advanced technologies to access sensitive data. In 2020 the US Senate reported that President Putin personally directed the hacking and leaking of Hillary Clinton’s account to ensure Trump’s 2016 win! IOs are using AI and deepfake technology for interventionism. China’s doctored video on the Galwan Valley Flag and the fake videos of Bollywood A-listers criticising PM Modi and urging people to vote for Congress are recent examples of the disruptive information operation against the Indian government.

Pakistan, India’s troublesome neighbour too is engaged in non-kinetic operations. It has raised a network of 4000 Information Warfare Specialists to wage a cognitive war against India. The Pakistan Army’s Green Book 2020 exhorts its agencies to intensify Influence Operations against India by employing thousands of trolls to spread communal hatred. Their objectives include projecting the terrorist activities in J&K as an indigenous movement and supporting anti- Modi, anti-India elements. The Pak agencies run many illegal radio channels to spread fake news. They are polarising narratives about India’s inner conflicts to stoke religious and political tension. Though illegal stations are shut down frequently by Indian agencies, they are swiftly replaced by new ones!

IOs could have been an effective tool in the non-violent democratisation process of countries by exposing tyranny; instead, they are used by large geopolitical players for shifting global power dynamics at the cost of civic life.

The conventional war is costly and is governed by International Laws. On the other hand, technologically advanced non-military means like IOs have proven to be cost-effective. And so they are rapidly gaining a strategic role in world politics. In the absence of an international regulatory framework to punish malevolent foreign states, IO aggression has become boundless.

This is the fifth-generation warfare where the faceless people with invisible hands are waging Influence Operations for personal gains. All we see is some useful idiots unwittingly serving them! In this scenario, political awareness is the key. The knowledge and understanding can empower individuals to make informed decisions and safeguard their rights and freedom. We have more duties than just electing the right candidate; to be wise is one of them! Yuri Bezmenov rightly said, “The useful idiots are instrumental in the process of the subversion only to destabilise a nation…When their job is completed, they are not needed anymore, they will be lined up against the wall and shot.”





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