Ravindra Kaushik is an Indian Intelligence Agent working for the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). He is considered one of the most popular Indian spies.
Wiki/Biography
Ravindra Kaushik was born into a modest family on 11 April 1952 (age 49; at the time of his death in 2001) in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan. He spent most of his childhood in Sri Ganganagar. While growing up, he witnessed the Indo-Pak War between 1965 and 1971.
After schooling from a Government School in Sri Ganganagar, he attended a private college, SD Bihani College, in Sri Ganganagar to obtain a degree in B.Com. While in college, Ravindra developed a talent for acting and started participating in various plays and theater plays. He has become very famous in his college due to his acting skills.
Ravindra Kaushik Acting As Actor
After his college, he joined RAW and started working as an Undercover Agent in Pakistan. After providing some valuable information to India, he was eventually arrested by the Pakistani Army and imprisoned. While in Jail, Ravindra used to write letters to his family; explain the trauma he went through. Some of his letters also show that he was not satisfied with the Indian Government’s policy of dealing with the problems faced by an Indian Intelligence Agent. In one of the letters, he wrote,
Kya Bharat jaise bade desh ke liye korbini dene waalon ko yahi milta hai?”
In another letter, he wrote sarcastically,
If I were an American, I would be out of this prison in three days.”
Family, Caste & Wife
Ravindra Kaushik was born in a Brahmin Family. His father, JM Kaushik, had served in the Indian Air Force, and after retirement, he started working in a factory in Sri Ganganagar. After hearing the news of Ravindra’s death, he died of shock and heart attack. His mother Amladevi died in 2006. His younger brother, Rajeshwarnath Kaushik, who is two years younger than Ravindra, lives in Jaipur. Ravindra Kaushik’s nephew, Vikram Vashisth, also lives in Jaipur. While serving in the Pakistan Army, Ravindra met his future wife, Amanat. Amanat, a Muslim girl, is the daughter of a member of the Pakistani Army. Ravindra Kaushik is married to Amanat and has a daughter with her.
Career
Once, he performed in a program in Lucknow, and it was there that he was approached by RAW Officials to join RAW. Ravindra accepted the offer, and after completing his studies in Commerce, he went to Delhi to join RAW in 1973. He joined RAW as an Intelligence Agent at the age of 23. A RAW official tells Ravindra that he will be sent to Pakistan on a special mission; where he will work as an Undercover Agent. After two years of grueling training, Ravindra was sent to Pakistan in 1975. During his training, he had to learn Urdu and Pakistani customs. He was also briefed on the topography of Pakistan. To make him stand out as a staunch Muslim, Ravindra converted to Islam and Sunnat (circumcision) was also performed on him. He arrived in Pakistan as a resident of Islamabad and was given the alias Nabi Ahmed Shakir. Soon after his arrival in Pakistan, Ravindra gained admission to the University of Karachi where he began studying Law. After completing his LLB from the University of Karachi, Ravindra Kaushik was commissioned into the Pakistan Army. After serving the Pakistan Army as a Commissioned Officer in the Military Accounts Department, he was soon promoted to the rank of Major in the Pakistan Army. While serving in the Pakistan Army, Ravindra provided some valuable information to India. In 1979, he ran a major operation that won praise from his boss. For his bravery, India’s then Home Minister, SB Chavan, gave him the title “Black Tiger.”
Period of Imprisonment & Death
After remaining active between 1979 and 1983, Ravindra Kaushik was arrested by the Pakistani Army; after his cover was accidentally exposed by another Indian Intelligence Agent named Inayat Masiha who had been sent by the Indian Intelligence Agency to arrange a meeting with Ravindra. In 1985, Ravindra Kaushik was sentenced to death; however, in 1990, the Supreme Court of Pakistan commuted the death penalty to life imprisonment. After spending the last 18 years of his life in various prisons in Pakistan including Sialkot and Kot Lakhpat, Ravindra Kaushik died of TB and Heart disease on 21 November 2001.
Controversy
Ravindra Kaushik’s nephew, Vikram Vashisth, claims that the plot of the Salman Khan-starrer Ek Tha Tiger (2012) is based on Ravindra Kaushik’s life. He also demanded Ravindra Kaushik’s name to be credited in the film.
Ravindra Kaushik’s nephew Vikram Vashisth
Facts
- Ravindra Kaushik’s birthplace, Sri Ganganagar, is very close to Pakistan’s International Border.
- Ravindra witnessed the Indo-Pak Wars of 1965 and 1971; while growing up in Sri Ganganagar.
- Since childhood, Ravindra was very patriotic.
- He is an accomplished theater artist and has performed at various programs in his college; mostly patriotic.
- Reportedly, he is a chain smoker.
Ravindra Kaushik Smoking
- He joined RAW at the age of 23 in 1973.
- Although he was a Brahmin, he had to convert to Islam for his mission in Pakistan.
- Sunnat (circumcision) is also performed on him.
- While serving in the Pakistan Army, Ravindra visited India three to four times.
- When he spent his life in a Pakistani jail, he was unhappy with the Indian Government for not making any successful efforts to save him.
- He spent 26 years of his life away from his home and family in Pakistan in very poor conditions.
- He was buried behind the Central Jail in Multan.
- After his death, his family was given a monthly compensation of ₹500 only, which was later increased to ₹2000 until his mother’s death in 2006.
- The 2012 Bollywood film “Ek Tha Tiger” and the 2019 Bollywood film “Romeo Akbar Walter” are slated to be based on the life of Ravindra Kaushik.
Romeo Akbar Walter (2019) Movie Poster.
- His younger brother, Rajeshwarnath Kaushik, and his mother, Amladevi, have written several letters to various Indian officials to rescue Ravindra Kaushik from Pakistan. However, they got no help from any of them.
- His mother, Amladevi, had also written a letter to the then Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in which she wrote-
Had he not been exposed, Kaushik would have been a senior army officer of the Pakistani government now and (continue in) the years to come (serving in India secretly).”
- While talking about Ravindra Kaushik, his elder brother, Rajeshwarnath Kaushik said-
He will always remain important to me, but to the country, he is just another agent.”
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
