Intelligence work takes courage and sacrifice, and these 10 intelligence agents of India have given their all to protect the country with their bravery and expertise. Among these are the names that frighten India’s enemies.
1. Ramraj: Ramraj, a prominent Indian Intelligence Agency (RAW) agent, served in Pakistan in 2004 but was swiftly captured. Two years of detention and seven years behind bars followed his arrest. After eight years, upon his return to India, he sought to reconnect with the authorities who had assigned him as a special agent.
2. Daniel: Daniel started working as an Indian secret agent in 1992 and was arrested while crossing the Pakistani border in 1993. In 1997, he was transferred to India after completing his tenure. In his current job, he pulls rickshaws.
3. Suram Singh: According to Suram Singh, Pakistani Rangers apprehended him at the border in 1974 after he entered the country without authorization. He was held at Sialkot’s Gora jail for around four months to conduct interrogations before spending the next 13 years and seven months in different Pakistani detention facilities. In 1988, Singh was returned to India.
4. Mohanlal Bhaskar- Mohammad Aslam was a national intelligence agent tasked with gathering information about Pakistan’s nuclear program. His cover was blown when an associate revealed his double-agent status, leading to 14 years of captivity in an Indian-Pakistani prisoner exchange. After his release, he authored the gripping book, ‘An Indian Spy in Pakistan.’
5. Ravindra Kaushik: Ravindra Kaushik, a talented theater actor from Rajasthan, gained fame at 21. He studied Urdu, Islamic literature, and Pakistan’s geography for two years, then went to Pakistan at 23 as Nabi Ahmed Shakir. He pursued law at the University of Karachi, became a Major in the Pakistan Army, and spent his last 16 years in Mianwali prison, passing away in 2001.
6. Kashmir Singh: Kashmir Singh, an Indian special agent, was accused of spying by Pakistani intelligence officials and spent 35 years in prison, 17 of which were in chains. He was pardoned by Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf in 2008 and returned to India.
7. Ajit Doval: Kerala cadre IPS officer Ajit Doval had spent seven years in Pakistan as a Muslim Pakistani. He gathered intelligence against Sikh separatists during Operation Black Thunder when he entered the Golden Temple posing as a Pakistani spy. He has been awarded the Kirti Chakra, India’s second-highest civilian gallantry award, and is currently retired as the National Security Advisor (NSA).
8. Saraswati Rajamani: At 16, Saraswati Rajamani, from a wealthy family, joined the Indian Navy, dedicating her jewelry to support the cause. She and five other young women posed as men to spy on the British, successfully sending crucial information to the Navy for several years. They worked as secret agents, blending in with British Army camps while safeguarding the environment.
9. Sehmat Khan: Sehmat Khan, an Indian-Kashmiri covert operative during the 1971 Indo-Pak conflict, gathered vital intelligence in Pakistan. She exposed a plot to target the Indian Navy’s INS Viraat and Centaur class carriers, thwarting the plan. After marrying a Pakistani and becoming pregnant, she returned to India. Her son later served in the Indian Army.
10-Rameshwar Nath Kao: Rameshwar Nath Kao, also known as RN Kao, was a key figure in creating RAW and NSG, safeguarding Jawaharlal Nehru, and potentially contributing to India’s 1971 war success. He backed the African National Congress against racism during his IB leadership and oversaw Mizoram in the 1980s. Much of his life remains mysterious.
