Those laying their lives in the service of the nation deserve eternal stardom not just mere customary respect and lip service. On Monday, had it not been for a very unfortunate misstep, would have been Ravindra Kaushik's seventieth birth anniversary. One of the best Indian spies ever, who rightfully earned the nick name Black Tiger.
Ravindra Kaushik was all of 23 when he first went undercover for RAW (Research and Analysis Wing). Penetrating the ranks of enemy's Army usually happens in a Martin Scorcese film, but he did it for real.Sent to Pakistan with a new identity of Nabi Ahmed Shakir, he eventually joining Pakistan Army and even rose to the rank of a Major.
Hailing from the town of Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan, Kaushik also participated in theatre and drama during his college days. As fate would have it, at the age of 23, Kaushik's exceptional deftness in theatrics, solo-acting, mimicking was spotted by RAW and he was offered to join the organisation. Thereafter, his grooming, rigorous training and induction into the organisation happened. During the two years of his transformation, Kaushik was circumcised, received Islamic religious education, already knew Punjabi, learnt Urdu to easily pass off as a Muslim hailing from Pakistan.
To further remove all evidence, all of his records in India were destroyed around the same time he was sent to Pakistan (1975) under the new identity of Nabi Ahmed Shakir. There he went onto to pursue his LLB from Karachi University and on completing his education, he joined the Pakistan Army as a commissioned officer.
Kaushik then rose to the rank of a Major, settled down with a family and continued to pass on classified and valuable information to RAW, which earned him the title of Black Tiger given by then PM Indira Gandhi.
Things and maybe history itself would have been very different, had it not been for an incident in 1983. When a low-level operative, Inayat Masiha, sent by RAW to establish contact with Kaushik was caught and inadvertently blew his cover to the Pakistani Forces during interrogation.
In a heartbreaking turn of events, Kaushik was arrested and as expected tortured by the Pakistan Army for two years. A death sentence on him was later converted to life term and while serving the life sentence, he was shifted through various jails in many cities. During the sixteen years of imprisonment, Kaushik wrote letters to his family back home apprising them of the cruelty he had been subjected to. He developed asthma, pulmonary tuberculosis and the torture in jails contributed to his deteriorating health condition and eventually death. Kaushik died, unsung on alien soil, at the New Central Multan Jail in 2001.
Life of an undercover agent
If soldiers remaining unsung is heart breaking, then undercover operatives remain anonymous, forgotten while dying on alien soil. Earlier pleas on Kaushik's release went unheeded and reportedly, his family received an insulting allowance of Rs 500. In 2021, Karnataka Government inaugurated e-library in his name. Several inspired celluloid attempts have been made at capturing his incredible life; from Salman Khan starrer Ek Tha Tiger to John Abraham's Romeo Akbar Walter, but none can redeem the fact that he felt betrayed by his very own nation. "Is this what happens to those who sacrifice their lives for the nation?" he penned these lines of anguish in a letter to his family, after being tortured for 2 years and spending 16 years in jail.
