Recently declassified documents related to the 1963 assassination of US President John F. Kennedy have revealed that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operated covert bases in India’s capital, New Delhi, and Kolkata. These documents, released by the US National Archives and Records Administration, provide insight into the CIA’s clandestine activities in India and other regions across the world during the Cold War era.

Secret CIA Bases in India and Beyond

According to the documents, the CIA’s New York division supervised secret bases not only in India but also in Pakistan’s Rawalpindi, Sri Lanka’s Colombo, Iran’s Tehran, South Korea’s Seoul, and Japan’s Tokyo. Some of these locations have faced legal scrutiny over allegations that detainees were held without formal charges or trials. These facilities, often known as "black sites," have historically been used for surveillance, espionage, and, in some cases, the detention and interrogation of suspected individuals.

The latest document release, which includes around 2,200 previously classified files, was made public following an order by former US President Donald Trump. This release is part of a larger collection of over six million pages of records, photographs, and materials linked to the Kennedy assassination, most of which had already been disclosed in previous years.

CIA’s Covert Operations and India’s Historical Links

India has a long history of interactions with the CIA, especially during the Cold War. In 2013, another declassified document revealed that India had permitted the CIA to use the Charbatia airbase in Odisha to refuel U-2 spy planes conducting surveillance missions over Chinese territory in 1962.

After gaining independence in 1947, India sought assistance from the United States in building its intelligence framework. In 1949, then-Intelligence Bureau Director T.G. Sanjeevi worked closely with the CIA to monitor Communist China’s activities. When China annexed Tibet in 1950, India, with CIA backing, provided support to Tibetan resistance fighters.

The CIA also played a crucial role in the escape of the Dalai Lama to India in 1959. Following the 1962 Sino-Indian war, the agency further strengthened its presence in the region, offering intelligence support and helping establish a secret military base in Charbatia for conducting U-2 reconnaissance flights over Chinese territory.

The release of these declassified files offers a rare glimpse into the covert intelligence operations of the CIA in India and other parts of Asia. While some of these activities were publicly known, the confirmation of secret CIA bases in New Delhi and Kolkata underscores the agency’s deep involvement in Cold War geopolitics. As more classified documents continue to be released, further revelations about intelligence operations in the region may come to light.