A native of Rajasthan, Ravindra Kaushik was recruited by RAW at a young age, and soon earned the moniker ‘Black Tiger’, for his exceptional espionage capabilities.
There are innumerable tales of courage and bravery in the world of espionage that remain untold due to a variety of reasons, including national security. These unsung heroes of India’s top intelligence agencies often sacrifice their entire identities, suffer unimaginable atrocities and torture in enemy countries, and even die in the service of the nation, to ensure our citizens are kept safe from enemy’s evil designs.
Additionally, unlike the Indian army and other armed forces, intelligence operatives are rarely honored with bravery medals and military honors as their clandestine operations are classified by the state and are not made public.
One such remarkable story of bravery is that of ‘Black Tiger’ Ravindra Kaushik, an operative of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW)– India’s premier spy agency– who infiltrated and joined the Pakistan Army, send intelligence inputs back to India for years, but his secret identity was uncovered due to a critical error made by the agency itself, which led to his capture and execution by the enemy.
Who was ‘Black Tiger’ Ravindra Kaushik?
A native of Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan, Ravindra Kaushik was recruited by RAW at a young age, and soon earned the moniker ‘Black Tiger’, for his exceptional espionage capabilities.
In the mid-70s, when espionage operations were still in their nascent stages in both India and Pakistan, RAW required talented recruits who could become its eyes and ears in Pakistan, so the agency conducted secret auditions, ultimately recruiting a few exceptional young men and women, including Ravindra, who would be trained and sent to infiltrate vital Pakistani institutions, including the Pakistan Army.
How India’s ‘Black Tiger’ infiltrated Pakistan Army?
Since his early childhood, Ravindra Kaushik was naturally good at acting and this proved to be major asset for him as a RAW operative. The young spy was prepped by the agency for months before his ultimate mission, including receiving lessons in Islamic theology and basic tenets of the religion.
Kaushik was given a new name– Nabi Ahmed Shakir, and his entire identity and life history in India was erased before being deployed to Pakistan. Additionally, he was also circumcised to prevent any suspicions. Ravindra was a gifted actor and used to perform stage theatre in college, and this ability gave him an edge as he embarked to play the biggest role of his life, one which would make him a legend in the annals of Indian espionage.
After arriving in Pakistan, Ravindra Kaushik enrolled in Karachi University, where he completed a degree to give more legitimacy to his cover. Soon, Ravindra joined the Pakistan Army where he steadily gained the trust of his colleagues and senior officers. Over the years, Kaushik’s rank in the Pakistan army kept going up, and he even got married and fathered a child with a Pakistani woman.
However, despite now being tied in familial bonds, Kaushik’s towards his country never wavered, as he continued to send critical intelligence inputs back to India, which even baffled the then Indian Prime Minister at the time.
What led to Ravindra Kaushik’s capture?
For years, Ravindra Kaushik kept sending information back to India, but in the spring of 1983, RAW suspected that he may been compromised after no intelligence was received from him for a while. In order to confirm Kaushik’s status, RAW deployed another agent to Pakistan, and asked him to contact Ravindra.
However, the agency’s decision proved disastrous for Ravindra as the less-experienced agent sent by RAW to contact him, was captured, tortured and forced to spill out his entire mission by Pakistani intelligence agencies, thus blowing the cover of ‘Black Tiger’. Following the agent’s confession, Ravindra Kaushik was captured by Pakistani forces, court-martialed, and sentenced to death.
