Cognitive Warfare and the Idea of Sahaj Intelligence

In a democracy like Bharat, the relevance of awareness-driven engagement and a first-responder model within the context of national security is only set to grow. These decentralised, agile responses will play an increasingly critical role in the broader architecture of national defence and societal resilience.

And this is precisely where the domain of Cognitive Warfare (CW) begins.

India’s experienced strategic community has long observed—and participated in—the transitional journey from Information Warfare (IW) and Psychological Operations (PsyOps) to today’s evolving battlespace. But more recently, a new layer has clearly emerged.

When we integrate tools like AI, AR/VR, synthetic media (including deepfakes), and other advanced technologies into this matrix, the battlefield shifts—from controlling information to controlling perception.

And that perceptual battlefield is exactly where Cognitive Warfare takes shape.

What is Cognitive Warfare – From a Layman’s Perspective

One of the biggest barriers to exploring the potential of this domain is the lack of a clear, accessible understanding of what Cognitive Warfare actually means.

Too often, we cloud the concept with security jargon, academic references, or overly technical frameworks—making it harder to grasp the basic idea at the heart of it.

To cut through the noise, we need to start with a simple, grounded question:

How do you explain Cognitive Warfare to someone who’s never heard the term—and what does it actually look like in practice?

If the person is a complete layman—someone unfamiliar with advanced tech or modern digital systems (rare these days, but still possible)—we can explain it in lighter terms:

Cognitive Warfare is really just the latest version of the oldest game in the world: manipulation.

For centuries, manipulators have shaped the way people think, behave, or believe—whether they were ancient travelers, invading empires, imperial regimes, or even certain academic voices: sociologists, anthropologists, ideological influencers, or psychologists.

But now, something new has happened.

When these classic manipulators shake hands with modern computing, AI, and algorithmic technology, a far more powerful—and more subtle—form of influence emerges.

That’s what we now call Cognitive Warfare.

So, on a lighter note: It’s not new in spirit—but it’s faster, sneakier… and now, it scales.

In essence, cognitive warfare isn’t about breaking systems—it’s about bending perception. And that requires an entirely different kind of defence.

Note: The article has been published on the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) website. You can read the full article from there.

Link to article – https://www.vifindia.org/2025/july/02/Cognitive-Warfare-and-the-Idea-of-Sahaj-Intelligence