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Ravindra Kaushik

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Ravindra Kaushik
Born(1952-04-11)11 April 1952[1]
Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan, India
DiedNovember 2001(2001-11-00) (aged 49)[2]
Central Jail Mianwali, Pakistan
Other namesBlack Tiger
Alma materUniversity of Karachi
Known forSpying for R&AW
Criminal chargeEspionage
Criminal penaltyLife imprisonment
Spouse
Amanat
​
(m. 1976)​
Children1
Espionage activity
Allegiance India
AgencyResearch and Analysis Wing
Service years1975–1983
AliasNabi Ahmed Shakir

Ravindra Kaushik (11 April 1952 – 21 November 2001) was an Indian Research and Analysis Wing agent who spied for India from 1975 until he was captured in 1983. Also known as The Black Tiger, Kaushik is considered as one of India's greatest spies.[2] He successfully infiltrated the Pakistan Army and reached the rank of major.[3][4]

Early life

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Ravindra Kaushik was born in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan on 11 April, 1952. His father, J. M. Kaushik, was an Indian Air Force officer; his mother Amla Devi died in 2006.[5] He graduated from S. D. Bihani P. G. College, Sri Ganganagar, earning a B.Com. Kaushik was also involved with theatre acting and debates while in college when he was recruited by the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW).[6]

Recruitment in the Research and Analysis Wing

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Kaushik was trained in Delhi for two years to be an undercover operative in Pakistan. He was also trained to live as a Muslim and was taught the Urdu language. Being from Sri Ganganagar, a city near Rajasthan's border with Punjab, he was well versed in Punjabi, which is widely understood in Punjab (India) and Pakistan as well.[7] In 1975, at the age of 23, he was sent to Pakistan.[2]

Activities in Pakistan

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Kaushik converted to Islam, underwent circumcision and was given the cover name "Nabi Ahmed Shakir".[7] After successfully getting admission in Karachi University, he completed his LL.B. After his graduation, he joined the Pakistan Army as a commissioned officer and was eventually promoted to the rank of major.[8] He married a local girl named Amaanat and fathered a boy, who died in 2012–2013.[7][9]

From 1979 to 1983, Kaushik worked as a Pakistani army officer, sending valuable information to R&AW. He was given the title of 'The Black Tiger' by then Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi.[10]

Death and aftermath

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In September 1983, R&AW sent a low-level operative, Inyat Masih, to make contact with Kaushik. But Masih was exposed by the Joint Counter-Intelligence Bureau of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence and blew Kaushik's cover.[2] Kaushik was captured, and tortured for two years at an interrogation center in Sialkot. He was sentenced to death in 1985; his sentence was later commuted to a life term by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. He was kept in various jails in several cities, including Sialkot, Kot Lakhpat and in Mianwali jail, for 16 years.[7] He managed to secretly send letters to his family in India, which revealed his poor health and the trauma he faced in Pakistani jails. In one of his letters, he wrote:

Kya Bharat jaise bade desh ke liye kurbani dene waalon ko yahi milta hai?" (Is this what people who sacrifice their lives for a big country like India get?)[2]

In November 2001, he died of pulmonary tuberculosis and heart disease in Central Jail Mianwali in Pakistan.[2] According to Kaushik's family, the Indian government had refused to recognise him and had made no effort to help him.[2]

Kaushik's family claimed that the storyline of the Bollywood film Ek Tha Tiger released in 2012 was based on the life of Kaushik, and asked for credit in the movie titles for Kaushik. But the director, Kabir Khan, denied their claim.[11]

See also

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Further reading

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  • S Hussain Zaidi; Brijesh Singh (2018). Dangerous Minds: Eight Riveting Profiles of Homegrown Terrorists. Penguin Random House. pp. 61–63. ISBN 978-93-86495-99-0.
  • Presley Thomas (6 December 2009). "The real life behind a 2002 spy thriller". Hindustan Times.

References

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  1. ^ "Salman Khan's new movie in controversy again". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "India's forgotten spy – Agent's family fights an impossible battle". Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  3. ^ "Story of RAW agent, Ravinder Kaushik, who worked as a Pakistan Army Major - Forgotten hero". The Economic Times. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  4. ^ "India's soldiers in shadows: Remembering Ravindra Kaushik's supreme sacrifice for nation - All you need to know about 'Black Tiger'". TimesNow. 10 August 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  5. ^ Umak, Lokesh (25 July 2020). "Ravindra Kaushik on sacrificing his life for India". Movie Review. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  6. ^ rashid, sumaira (12 April 2021). "Ravindra Kaushik, 'The Black Tiger'- India's Greatest Spy". The Indianness. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d "Late spy's kin fight for reel life credit". Archived from the original on 24 August 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  8. ^ "Story of RAW agent, Ravinder Kaushik, who worked as a Pakistan Army Major - Forgotten hero". The Economic Times. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  9. ^ "The real life behind a 2002 spy thriller". Hindustan Times. 6 December 2009. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  10. ^ Shetty, Soham (9 February 2023). "Anurag Basu to direct upcoming film 'The Black Tiger' on life of Indian Spy Ravindra Kaushik". CNBC TV18. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  11. ^ "Dead RAW agent's nephew takes Salman's Ek Tha Tiger producers to court". 27 July 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
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