Wed Oct 15 10:00:00 UTC 2025: ## News Article:
**Indian-American Strategist Ashley Tellis Arrested in US, Sparks Political Storm in India**
**Washington D.C./New Delhi:** The arrest of Ashley Tellis, a prominent Indian-American geopolitical strategist, by the FBI in the United States has ignited a fierce political debate in India. Tellis, 64, was arrested over the weekend and charged on Monday with unlawfully retaining national defense information, sending shockwaves through both American and Indian political circles.
According to the Justice Department, Tellis is suspected of accessing classified material from the State Department and the Defense Department, making copies, and taking them home. Over a thousand pages of top-secret and secret documents were reportedly found at his residence in Vienna, Virginia. An FBI affidavit revealed that the agency had been tracking Tellis’s movements, including meetings with Chinese government officials, for several months.
The arrest has triggered a political firestorm in India, fueled by Tellis’s past criticisms of the current government. The ruling BJP party has accused Tellis of being part of an “anti-India force,” with BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya highlighting his frequent criticisms of the Modi administration and implying links to the opposition.
Writer-economist Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, went further, suggesting that Tellis was a “deep state asset” and questioning whether he was working for the US or China.
The opposition, however, remains largely silent, with some members claiming that he was a darling of the left-liberal lobby, especially because he kept harping that India has lost its primacy.
Priyanka Chaturvedi, a Rajya Sabha MP from Shiv Sena (UBT), branded Tellis as a “sell-out to the highest bidder.”
Conversely, some observers have raised concerns about a potential “witch-hunt” by the Trump administration, given Tellis’s past criticisms of American leaders. Former diplomat K.C. Singh questioned whether the arrest was “revenge” for past criticism.
The controversy has also sparked calls for an investigation in India into Tellis’s activities. Commentator Sandip Ghose has urged the Home Ministry to investigate his contacts in India, questioning whether he advised politicians on behalf of foreign powers and whether he acted as a double agent.
Tellis, who previously worked with both Republican and Democratic administrations, including on the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, has recently been critical of India’s foreign policy trajectory. His articles in Foreign Affairs, such as “India’s Great-Power Delusions” and “America’s Bad Bet on India,” have argued that New Delhi is unlikely to side with Washington against Beijing, contributing to the scrutiny he has faced.
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