We grew up reading spy stories, often listening to thrilling accounts of people who went beyond enemy lines, putting their lives on the line, anonymous, often not recognized by their own governments. But how many know the story of one of India’s greatest spies Ravindra Kaushik, who was given the moniker “Black Tiger” by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. A spy who infiltrated the Pakistan Army, rose to the rank of Major, before exposed by a botched up communication, leading to his arrest, interrogation and torture in various prisons before passing away.
He was born on April 11, 1952 in Sri Ganganagar, a small town in Rajasthan close to the border with Punjab, to JM Kaushik a former IAF officer and Amla Devi. Graduating from the S. D. Bihani P. G. College, Sri Ganganagar, he had already made a name for himself in theater and mimicry.
He joined RAW in 1973, though he told his father he was going to Delhi for a job, he was working as their undercover agent, a fact even his family did not know. He had to undergo intensive training for two years, learn Urdu, and he converted to Islam, even undergoing circumcision. All his Indian records were wiped out, and he was given the name of Nabi Ahmed Shakir.
He landed in Pakistan in 1975, by now fully familiar with the country’s geography, and culture, enrolled in Karachi University where he got an LLB degree. Joining the Pakistan army as a commisioned officer in it’s Military Accounts Department, he worked his way up the ranks getting promoted to Major.
Taking advantage of his position, he managed to secure vital confidential information, that he would pass on to the Indian Government. Known for his stealth and manipulative skills, he managed to get past the Pakistani authorities, and from 1979 to 1983 he was a valuable asset to the Indian Govt. So skilful was his guise, that even his Pakistani wife Amanat, never suspected him of being an Indian.
However tragedy struck in 1983, when Inyat Masih, another undercover RAW agent was caught by Joint Counter Intelligence Bureau of Pakistan’s ISI, and under severe torture exposed Kaushik’s cover. The ISI agents set up a meeting between Inyat and Kaushik, and arrested him at a park. For close to two years he was brutally tortured in an interrogation center in Sialkot.
Though sentenced to death by the Pakistan Supreme Court in 1985, it was later commuted to life imprisonment, as he spent the last 16 years of his life in various prisons. The Indian Government washed it’s hands off, a decision that was correct in a diplomatic sense, as it would have raised many questions.
However for Kaushik and his family it was traumatic, he still managed to write letters daily, describing his condition, and the mental trauma he was facing, both from the imprisonment and a sense of feeling abandoned. In one of his letters he wrote
Kya Bharat jaise bade desh ke liye kurbani dene waalon ko yahi milta hai?
The Government not wanting to get into a diplomatic tangle, refused to recognize him and assist him, inspite of multiple pleas from his family members. One of his last words just three days before his death, was quite hard hitting.
"Had I been an American, I would have been out of this jail in three days."
He finally passed away in November 2001 at the Central Jail Mianwali in Pakistan. Ravinder Kaushik is one of those heroes whose life really needs to be celebrated for his service to the country.
It’s believed that Salman Khan’s Ek Tha Tiger, was based on his life, though director Kabir Khan denied this. Also Robbie Grewal’s Romeo Akbar Walter, starring John Abraham, though in typical Bollywood style they named the hero as Rehmatullah Khan.