Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh’s film ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge,’ the highly anticipated sequel to Dhurandhar, is making waves in the theatres. Amid this, the audience is associating his on-screen Indian agent role through the shadowy underworld of Pakistan’s Karachi with a real-life hero, Ravindra Kaushik, one of RAW’s most talked about undercover operatives.
Indian spy Ravindra Kaushik love life
At the age of 23, Kaushik crossed the border under the guise of Nabi Ahmed Shakir, undergoing circumcision and other physical & cultural changes. Based on his training and undercover identity, he joined the Pakistani Army and was posted as a clerk in the Military Accounts Department. Through his diligence, he earned promotions up to the rank of Major. However, there’s also a ‘love’ angle associated with his life. Kaushik married a Pakistani woman named Amaanat and started a family with her.
Marriage with Pakistani army officer’s daughter
According to reports, Amaanat was the daughter of a senior Pakistani Army officer. Kaushik tied the knot with her to reinforce his Pakistani identity, but she never learned he was an Indian spy. The couple had a son. He used his family as part of his undercover identity, fraught with the risks of espionage.
Arrest, torture and death
Nabi’s real identity was revealed safter a failed communication attempt. A RAW contact was intercepted, leading to exposure of his cover under interrogation, The Telegraph reported. He was arrested and subjected to a prolonged and brutal interrogation spanning multiple prisons. In 1985, he was sentenced to death, which was later changed to life imprisonment. After spending 16 years in prison, Kaushik died in custody on November 21, 2001, due to illness and neglect, and was buried near his prison.
Who was Ravindra Kaushik?
Born on April 11, 1952, in Rajasthan’s Sri Ganganagar, a town located in close proximity to the India-Pakistan border, Ravindra Kaushik is one of India’s Research and Analysis Wing’s most talked about undercover operatives. According to published accounts on Indian intelligence operations, he kicked off his career as a theatre artist. His acting prowess, voice control, and remarkable ability to slip into diverse characters later reportedly caught the attention of RAW recruiters in Lucknow.
Between 1973 and 1975, Kaushik underwent an intense training in Delhi, which included learning Islamic customs, the Urdu language, and the social fabric of Pakistan. Additionally, he studied politics, geography, behaviour patterns, and survival skills. In Pakistan, he enrolled at the University of Karachi and earned an LLB degree from there. In the journey of preparing himself to become someone else, his original identity was completely erased.
As a Pakistani Major, Ka had access to sensitive military documents and information. During his years of active operation from 1979 to 1983, he passed on crucial intelligence to Indian agencies. Although exact details are confidential, the information that he supplied is said to have prevented several military escalations. As written in multiple intelligence-related publications, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi honoured him with the codename ‘The Black Tiger’.
Note: Dhurandhar does not claim to narrate Ravindra Kaushik’s story.
