Examining Impact Of Foreign-Funded Journalist Network Against India’s Stability

India is a vibrant democracy with a strong economy and a growing global influence. But not everyone is happy with its success. There are some forces that want to undermine India’s progress and tarnish its image in the world. One of them is a network of investigative journalists called the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).

What is OCCRP?

OCCRP claims to be a global network of investigative journalists with staff in several countries, specialising in reporting on organised crime and largely publishes these ‘news articles’ through partnerships with media houses. But is it really what it claims to be? Or is it just a shiny front to achieve something else?
That answer to it leads to another question: who funds them? On its website, it identifies the Open Society Foundations of George Soros, a financier with a penchant for funding radical causes around the world, as one of the institutional donors. Other prominent donors are Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund and Oak Foundation. Most people make a distinction about such western institutions, what they officially profess and what role they actually play and how.

What is their agenda?

Just as India was celebrating a historic achievement in space exploration, a troubling news report from the Press Trust of India (PTI) has cast a shadow over the nation’s jubilation. The report suggests that OCCRP, along with their accomplice toolkit groups, are once again preparing to launch an attack under the guise of investigative journalism. PTI report suggests that OCCRP is planning an ‘expose’ on certain corporate houses in India. It added that the ‘expose’ may involve overseas funds investing in the stocks of the corporate houses. These firms have not yet been identified but agencies are reportedly keeping a close eye on the capital market.

It’s high time we scrutinized the motives and funding behind OCCRP

It’s important to remember what George Soros, a Hungarian-born American billionaire and a known India baiter since Narendra Modi became prime minister in 2014, said after the Hindenburg report had created ripples: “In India, Modi and business tycoon Adani are close allies. Their fate is intertwined. Adani Enterprises tried to raise funds in the stock market but failed…Modi will have to answer on Adani in Parliament. This will significantly weaken Modi’s stranglehold on India’s federal govt. I expect a democratic revival in India…I could be foolish, but I think democracy will flourish again.”
It may be noted that Soros saw India to be happy and healthy in the UPA 1 and UPA 2 eras.

Though in the immediate aftermath of the Hindenburg report Adani stocks badly tumbled, a political storm erupted, opposition Congress and its allies forced a complete washout of the winter session of Parliament, all kinds of allegations were made against the Modi government by its known critics and political rivals, but as the time passed people and investors saw through the possible game in that foreign-originated report, Adani stocks gained upward momentum and the Supreme Court-appointed committee led by former Supreme Court Justice AM Sapre on the Adani-Hindenburg issue came to a conclusion that “prima facie no regulatory failure on part of the SEBI around the allegation of price manipulation”.

In short, Soros’ wishes couldn’t get the flight path trajectory he wanted. There is, thus, this informed speculation the OCCRP was coming out with “Hindenburg 2.0” to try and cause further political and economic upheaval in India.

It has been proved on multiple occasions that they time their report with some important events in India’s calendar. Let’s see why the current timing is important. But before that a bit of backgrounder.
In May, a six-member expert Supreme Court-appointed committee stated that there was evidence of a build-up in short positions on Adani Group stocks ahead of the release of the Hindenburg report. Suspicious trading was observed on the part of six entities. Of these, four are FPIs, one body corporate and one individual. Some news reports suggest that on further investigation, the number of such entities have gone up. It suggested that SEBI ought to be probing such actions under securities laws.

SEBI is expected to submit its report to the Supreme Court on Aug. 29. It is nobody’s case to suggest that the higher judiciary verdict can be influenced by some media or other privately funded reports, but such reports do create a negative buzz and give some additional talking points to the petitioner’s lawyers in the court.
In less than a fortnight, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be hosting the G20 summit meeting in New Delhi. Raising political dust or adverse economic/stock market report wouldn’t be in the best interests. PM Modi and India in recent years have gained great stature in the global high table. India through its hard work in various sectors is trying overtime to go higher. Modi has already declared that in his third term India will become a $5 trillion economy.

How can we counter them?

The best way to counter such malicious attempts by foreign-funded networks like OCCRP is to expose their hidden agenda and their dubious sources of funding. We should also question their credibility and their motives behind targeting India and its leaders. We should not fall prey to their propaganda and their sensationalism. We should rely on facts and evidence, not rumours and innuendos.

India is a proud nation with a glorious history and a bright future. We should not let anyone undermine our confidence or our sovereignty. We should stand united against any external or internal threats that seek to harm our interests or our values. We should support our government and our institutions that are working hard to make India a strong and prosperous country.

We should also celebrate our achievements and our potential. We should be proud of our culture and our diversity. We should be proud of our democracy and our freedom. We should be proud of our people and our leaders. We should be proud of being Indians.