RSS-Linked Group Urges India to Block Starlink Over Security

Image: Starlink/X

Swadeshi Jagran Manch, an economic-nationalist group affiliated with the RSS, urged India’s central government on Tuesday to deny Starlink permission to launch commercial satellite broadband, citing national-security concerns and condemning Elon Musk’s recent attacks on Mukesh Ambani.

The call came in a statement from SJM national co-convenor Ashwani Mahajan, carried by the PTI wire service. It is pressure from an advocacy group, not a government decision, and New Delhi has neither approved nor rejected Starlink’s licence application.

“The organisation is of the firm belief that blocking Starlink would send a message to trade partners like the US … that India is certainly within its rights to block Starlink based on its genuine national security concerns,” Mahajan said. He accused Musk of choosing to make allegations against Indian businesses and, indirectly, the government “instead of responding to clarifications sought from his company, on national security grounds.”

Mahajan suggested Musk is either trying to win the licence through public pressure or venting frustration over regulatory requirements that Starlink “is perhaps not prepared to meet.” His security case rests on three points. Starlink’s satellite-to-satellite laser links could let Indian traffic bypass domestic gateways and travel through foreign infrastructure, which would make lawful monitoring harder, and “Government wants Indian traffic routed through gateways within India,” he said.

He also argued that India often has to cut internet service during riots, protests, separatist activity and terror incidents, and raised the risk of satellite internet reaching smugglers and insurgent groups. Mahajan said the group’s concerns draw on Starlink’s record in Ukraine, Iran, Russia, China, Taiwan, South Africa, Brazil, Venezuela and Sudan.

The SJM pointed to its own track record as a model. Mahajan said the group opposed Huawei and ZTE joining India’s 5G trials, neither was allowed in, and Indian engineers went on to build the homegrown 5Gi standard. He argued that even if domestic satellite internet arrives a little later, India could still offer it “far cheaper than Starlink while ensuring national security.”

The statement lands after nearly a week of escalation from Musk. He said on October 7 that Starlink was being blocked by “certain oligarchs,” asked on October 8 whether Ambani is “the real boss of India,” and followed up on October 9 with a mock open letter addressed to “Prime Minister Ambani.” According to PTI, he has since shared reports alleging that Reliance-linked firms boosted the ruling BJP’s social media campaigns and made large political donations. Reliance has not publicly responded.

India’s Ministry of Communications has already rejected the idea that Starlink is being singled out. In an October 8 statement, it said its satellite framework is “fair and non-discriminatory” and that security assessments are under way for all three licensed operators, which are Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite Communications, Reliance’s joint venture with SES. The ministry said all three are at “broadly the same regulatory stage,” and only after that review can an operator seek spectrum.

Starlink’s road into India has been long. In 2021, the government ordered SpaceX to stop taking Indian preorders, and the company refunded the deposits it had collected. Starlink then won its Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) licence in June 2025 and authorization from space regulator IN-SPACe the following month, after spending years on paperwork that Musk now says complied “with every single law and requirement.”

Spectrum has been its own fight. In May 2025, telecom regulator TRAI recommended assigning satellite spectrum administratively, at 4% of adjusted gross revenue, instead of through the auction that Reliance Jio had lobbied for. That same March, Starlink signed distribution deals with both Bharti Airtel and Jio, its would-be rivals, with each deal conditional on Starlink getting its own approvals. The company hired for a Bengaluru office this year and told India Mobile Congress on October 7 that it stands ready to serve the country once clearances arrive.

Pricing remains unknown. In December 2025, Starlink’s India site briefly showed a residential plan at Rs 8,600 a month plus a Rs 34,000 kit, but the company said those figures were placeholder test data published by mistake and that real plans will come after final approval. Musk has also said Starlink beams are currently turned off over India.

The gateway question Mahajan raised is the kind of issue the ministry’s ongoing security review is meant to settle. The SJM wants the government to skip ahead and say no outright. Should India hold Starlink to the same security review as everyone else, or is this group pushing for a block before that review is even finished?