RAVINDRA KAWSHIK " THE FORGOTTEN HERO "
Ravindra Kaushik ( The Black Tiger), born and brought up in Sriganganagar, a border town in Rajasthan on April 11, 1952 and grew up to be a charismatic college student, with above-average intelligence and looks. He was theatrically inclined, and staged mono-acting skits in college.
It was at this time when Kaushik came to know about RAW ( Research and Analysis Wing). “It was probably his mono-act in college in which he played an Indian army officer who refused to divulge information to China that caught the attention of intelligence officers,” said Rajeshwarnath Kaushik, younger brother of Ravindra. Soon after completing his Bachelors in Commerce, Kaushik left for Delhi, to join RAW entering a world of intrigue and danger.
He moved from there to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, where he learned Urdu, got acquainted with the muslim religious texts, the topography in Pakistan and underwent circumcision. Kaushik finally got to land in our neighboring alien country. When he was sent to Pakistan in 1975, all his records in India were destroyed and he was given a new identity of Nabi Ahmed Shakir. Nabi Ahmed now started his LLB in Karachi University to create a perfect back story and join the Pakistan army.
He was commissioned in the Pakistan Army and soon promoted to the rank of Major. During that time he converted to Islam and married a local girl Amanat, fathering a son with her. From 1979 to 1983 he passes on critical information to the Indian defense forces which were of great help. Because of the valuable information being sent by Nabi Ahmed he became famous as ‘The Black Tiger' in Indian defense circles, a name conferred by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi herself.
In 1983, when he was 29, an Indian agent, Inyat Masiha was sent by RAW to get in touch with Nabi Ahmed. He was caught by Pakistani intelligence agencies and tortured to reveal Nabi Ahmed's true identity. The cover now blown by the Pakistani intelligence agencies, Ravinder Kaushik was tortured for two years before being sentenced to death in 1985. However, the death sentence was later changed to life imprisonment by the Supreme Court.
Kaushik spent the last 16 years of his glorious life in various jails including Mianwali and Sialkot. Due to the poor facilities in the Pakistani jails, he contracted Asthma and TB which turned fatal. After enduring extreme trauma he finally succumbed to a heart disease in the New Central Multan Jail. The finest Indian spy is still buried today behind that jail.
Just three days before his death, he wrote a bitter letter home: “Had I been an American, I would have been out of this jail in three days" and even wrote to his mother describing the traumatic conditions in which he was held captive.
Despite of several letters from his mother to the then rulers asking for the safety of his son who was in jail, the only thing government did after he died was to send his parents some money every month as pension, said Rajeshwar. The family first got Rs 500 a month, and after a few years, they began receiving Rs 2,000 a month -- until 2006, when their mother Amladevi died. Their father had already died of a stroke two years following his son’s death.
However, Ravindra Kaushik's life still inspires a lot of young RAW officers and he is still remembered as India's finest intelligence agent who never gave up serving his country in his death. Ravinder Kaushik will always be a true Indian soldier who gave his life without ever asking for any acknowledgement. Let's take up the privilege to salute the great Indian warrior – The Black Tiger!
JAI HIND.!
Ravindra Kaushik ( The Black Tiger), born and brought up in Sriganganagar, a border town in Rajasthan on April 11, 1952 and grew up to be a charismatic college student, with above-average intelligence and looks. He was theatrically inclined, and staged mono-acting skits in college.
It was at this time when Kaushik came to know about RAW ( Research and Analysis Wing). “It was probably his mono-act in college in which he played an Indian army officer who refused to divulge information to China that caught the attention of intelligence officers,” said Rajeshwarnath Kaushik, younger brother of Ravindra. Soon after completing his Bachelors in Commerce, Kaushik left for Delhi, to join RAW entering a world of intrigue and danger.
He moved from there to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, where he learned Urdu, got acquainted with the muslim religious texts, the topography in Pakistan and underwent circumcision. Kaushik finally got to land in our neighboring alien country. When he was sent to Pakistan in 1975, all his records in India were destroyed and he was given a new identity of Nabi Ahmed Shakir. Nabi Ahmed now started his LLB in Karachi University to create a perfect back story and join the Pakistan army.
He was commissioned in the Pakistan Army and soon promoted to the rank of Major. During that time he converted to Islam and married a local girl Amanat, fathering a son with her. From 1979 to 1983 he passes on critical information to the Indian defense forces which were of great help. Because of the valuable information being sent by Nabi Ahmed he became famous as ‘The Black Tiger' in Indian defense circles, a name conferred by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi herself.
In 1983, when he was 29, an Indian agent, Inyat Masiha was sent by RAW to get in touch with Nabi Ahmed. He was caught by Pakistani intelligence agencies and tortured to reveal Nabi Ahmed's true identity. The cover now blown by the Pakistani intelligence agencies, Ravinder Kaushik was tortured for two years before being sentenced to death in 1985. However, the death sentence was later changed to life imprisonment by the Supreme Court.
Kaushik spent the last 16 years of his glorious life in various jails including Mianwali and Sialkot. Due to the poor facilities in the Pakistani jails, he contracted Asthma and TB which turned fatal. After enduring extreme trauma he finally succumbed to a heart disease in the New Central Multan Jail. The finest Indian spy is still buried today behind that jail.
Just three days before his death, he wrote a bitter letter home: “Had I been an American, I would have been out of this jail in three days" and even wrote to his mother describing the traumatic conditions in which he was held captive.
Despite of several letters from his mother to the then rulers asking for the safety of his son who was in jail, the only thing government did after he died was to send his parents some money every month as pension, said Rajeshwar. The family first got Rs 500 a month, and after a few years, they began receiving Rs 2,000 a month -- until 2006, when their mother Amladevi died. Their father had already died of a stroke two years following his son’s death.
However, Ravindra Kaushik's life still inspires a lot of young RAW officers and he is still remembered as India's finest intelligence agent who never gave up serving his country in his death. Ravinder Kaushik will always be a true Indian soldier who gave his life without ever asking for any acknowledgement. Let's take up the privilege to salute the great Indian warrior – The Black Tiger!
JAI HIND.!
