The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has categorised Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad as ‘militant religious organisations’ and it has classified the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as a ‘nationalist organisation’ in its The World Factbook. It has put these organisations under the category called ‘political pressure groups and leaders’ along with Jamait Ulema-e-Hind, which is tagged as ‘militant religious organisation’ and Hurriyat Conference has been categorised as a separatist group.
The CIA World Factbook has not only arbitrarily identified the Hindu groups as ‘militant organisations’, it has also issued a map of India where it has erroneously excluded a legitimate part of west Kashmir and has identified it as a part of Pakistan and the border is termed as ‘1972 Line of Control’. On the east side of Jammu and Kashmir, the map shows Aksai Chin area in China and termed as ‘Indian claim’ with the border named the ‘Line of Actual Control’. The World Factbook of CIA, “provides information on the history, people, government, economy, energy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities. Our Reference tab includes maps of the major world regions, as well as Flags of the World, a Physical Map of the World, a Political Map of the World, a World Oceans map, and a Standard Time Zones of the World map,” according to their website. According to India Today reports, the Bajrang Dal and VHP are going to take legal action and are currently exploring options.
The World Factbook is published by the CIA annually. CIA has also put militant organisations like Hizbul Mujahideen and Indian Mujahideen under the category of ‘home based’ militant groups with a goal to “establish Islamic rule in India.