Asia’s manufactured unrest: The Deep State’s playbook and India’s inevitable rise

In recent months, Asia has been convulsed by a series of seemingly spontaneous uprisings: the student protests in Bangladesh, political unrest and power transfer struggles in Nepal, and now the growing wave of discontent in the Philippines. To casual observers, these may appear to be isolated domestic crises. But to anyone who has tracked the geopolitical fault lines of the past decade, a discernible pattern emerges, one that bears the hallmark of the Western ‘deep state’s’ modus operandi.

From the Arab Spring to colour revolutions in Eastern Europe, the playbook has been deployed repeatedly: infiltrate domestic grievances, amplify them through sympathetic media and civil society actors, and channel them into movements that undermine local regimes and redirect national trajectories. Asia is now the latest theatre. And the unspoken target at the heart of this destabilization strategy is India.

Bangladesh: The Student Uprising

Bangladesh has long been a frontline state in the contest between secular democratic forces and Islamist radicals. The recent student protests, sparked by grievances over quotas and corruption, quickly morphed into something larger. Overnight, the movement acquired professional messaging, slick propaganda, and suspiciously coordinated international amplification.

Local anger is real, no society is immune to the frustrations of unemployment or governance deficits. But the speed with which student-led protests were weaponized indicates more than just organic discontent. Western NGOs and funding networks, long active in Bangladesh, saw in these protests an opportunity: weaken a government that has pursued deeper ties with China and maintained a pragmatic but independent relationship with India.

The result? Dhaka’s streets turned into battle zones, and the very stability of a country that has achieved significant economic progress over the last decade was put at risk. And while Bangladesh bleeds, those orchestrating the unrest remain conveniently in the shadows.

Nepal: Unrest and Power Transfer

If Bangladesh represents the mobilization of youth, Nepal reveals another prong of the playbook: manipulating political instability. Landlocked and fragile, Nepal has historically been a buffer state between India and China. Its democratic experiment has been riddled with factionalism, corruption, and opportunism.

The latest round of unrest, ostensibly over governance failures has dovetailed neatly into demands for leadership change and opportunistic pushes for power transfer. The choreography is familiar: street mobilization, opposition consolidation, and outside “facilitation” in the name of democracy and rights.

For the West’s deep state actors, Nepal is not just about regime change, it is about prying open a corridor of influence right on India’s Himalayan doorstep. A destabilized Nepal offers a platform for propaganda, intelligence operations, and pressure tactics against New Delhi, while keeping China wary.

Philippines: The New Flashpoint

The Philippines has become the third piece of this emerging triangle of unrest. Under Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Manila has leaned closer to Washington on security while also managing a complex relationship with Beijing over the South China Sea, all while getting closer to India especially in terms of purchase of Defense equipment and strategic alignment.

The Philippines uprising, a blend of street protests, student agitation, and labour strikes, appears to be building momentum. While it carries local grievances at its core, the orchestration once again bears uncanny similarities to earlier ‘colour revolutions’: heavy international media spotlight, sudden mobilization of diaspora activists, and foreign think-tank reports framing the unrest as a ‘democratic renewal.’

The strategic intent is clear. A destabilized Philippines allows Washington to recalibrate its regional military posture while keeping Beijing occupied in its maritime backyard. But equally, it sends tremors across Southeast Asia, another theatre where India has been steadily deepening economic and strategic partnerships.

The Common Thread: Western Deep State Tactics

What links Dhaka, Kathmandu, and Manila is not merely protest. It is the systematic weaponization of discontent. The Western deep state, made up of entrenched bureaucracies, intelligence networks, and aligned civil society institutions, has perfected the art of hybrid destabilization.

1. Identify grievances—student frustrations, corruption scandals, unemployment.

2. Seed external funding—through NGOs, foundations, and opaque aid pipelines.

3. Amplify narratives—via sympathetic international media, diaspora influencers, and curated hashtags.

4. Escalate demands—from reforms to regime change, always couched in the language of democracy and rights.

5. Capitalize geopolitically—once unrest takes hold, pressure regimes to realign foreign policy or risk isolation.

This cycle has been deployed in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Africa. Its arrival in South Asia and Southeast Asia is neither accidental nor coincidental.

Why Target Asia, and Why Target India?

Asia today is the world’s engine of growth. The shift of global wealth, manufacturing, and technology to the East has been underway for two decades. But within Asia, one country stands out: India.

• India is the fastest-growing major economy.

• It is emerging as a semiconductor hub, a services powerhouse, and a manufacturing alternative to China.

• Diplomatically, it straddles multiple blocs, from BRICS to G20 to the Quad, asserting an independent voice.

• Militarily, India is steadily modernizing, aiming for a blue-water navy and advanced space capabilities.

• Culturally and demographically, it represents both the youngest major society and a civilizational confidence on the rise.

For the Western establishment, this poses a dilemma. On one hand, they seek India as a partner to balance China. On the other, India’s strategic autonomy, its refusal to be co-opted into a Western bloc makes it a long-term challenge to Western hegemony.

Destabilizing India directly is not feasible. But destabilizing its neighbourhood, Bangladesh, Nepal, the Philippines, perhaps tomorrow Sri Lanka or Myanmar, creates concentric rings of instability. Each crisis diverts India’s attention, strains its resources, and complicates its external environment.

India’s Rise Will Continue Regardless

Yet, for all the machinations of the deep state, one reality remains immutable: India’s rise is inevitable.

The resilience of India’s democracy, its economic depth, and its civilizational ballast ensure that no external script can derail its trajectory. If anything, repeated attempts to destabilize Asia only reinforce India’s centrality as the region’s stabilizer.

• In Bangladesh, India remains the natural partner for reconstruction and democratic consolidation.

• In Nepal, India’s historical, cultural, and economic linkages are irreplaceable, no matter the swings of political leadership.

• In the Philippines and Southeast Asia, India’s growing defence and trade ties provide an alternative pole of stability.

As Western networks play their destabilization games, India will continue to invest in connectivity, trade, technology, and multilateral platforms. It will strengthen bonds with like-minded partners in Asia, the Gulf, Africa, and Latin America. And it will deepen its role as the voice of the Global South, speaking for stability, sovereignty, and growth.

The Futility of Manufactured Unrest

The uprisings in Bangladesh, Nepal, and the Philippines should not be dismissed as mere coincidences. They are part of a larger design to keep Asia fragmented and distracted. But history offers a sobering lesson: external destabilization can spark turmoil, but it rarely succeeds in the long run.

India’s rise, anchored in its people, its economy, and its values cannot be scripted away by foreign powers. The deep state’s playbook may create noise, but the signal is unmistakable: the Asian century will be shaped not by destabilization, but by India’s steady, inevitable ascent.