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Open Secrets: India's Intelligence Unveiled
Book by Maloy Krishna Dhar
552 pages, Paperback
First published April 30, 2005
853 people are currently reading
2168 people want to read
About the author
Maloy Krishna Dhar
27 books35 followersMaloy Krishna Dhar began life as a journalist and a teacher, but ended up spending more than thirty years as an officer in India's Intelligence Bureau, retiring as its Joint Director.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
November 27, 2015
Fascinating narration by a practitioner who lived his life on his own terms. Dhar is not only brutally frank about the events and the individuals around him, he reveals the contradictions within his own persona eloquently without being defensive about what he thought or did. I have not come across such a detailed account of what happens in the official "spy" world and how it impacts the lives of important and not so important people. He packs a punch in whatever he says and hold back none even calling the "fourth estate" members "taxis on hire". One may dispute and disagree with some of his actions, specially when he treads into territories that a bureaucrat should normally avoid. Perhaps that proved his undoing.
January 7, 2018
Long, but well written
This book by an IB sleuth (not RAW) has a slow start, when it talks about problem of the North East. But gradually becomes interesting when it starts talking about tackling Pakistan, internal espionage incidents, etc.
Some startling revelations like politicians on payroll of ISI, twisting of cases related to national security by ruling party, and the ruling party using intelligence for its own electoral and political benefits will leave you in disgust.
Good read!
This book by an IB sleuth (not RAW) has a slow start, when it talks about problem of the North East. But gradually becomes interesting when it starts talking about tackling Pakistan, internal espionage incidents, etc.
Some startling revelations like politicians on payroll of ISI, twisting of cases related to national security by ruling party, and the ruling party using intelligence for its own electoral and political benefits will leave you in disgust.
Good read!
November 29, 2017
Fascinating account of 29 years of service. Similar to kaoboys of R&AW.
June 28, 2014
Explosive stuff... recounts quite a bit of the shameless shennigans our elected representatives and our security services have been up to in exploiting most of the problems we face instead of resolving them and how and why these have persisted despite the ostensible weight of the state being flung against them. Mr Dhar candidly writes about the Punjab imbroglio where a raft of vested interests sought to keep fanning the flames of the insurgency for their short-term benefits and might have inflicted more lasting damage had not the insurgents overreached themselves by their wanton criminality and brutality. Also the backdrop of the communal conflagration that was sought to be created for the sake of electoral benefit and reached its shameful heights on Dec 6, 1992, the unprincipled jostling for power in the last four decades..... the catalogue of shameful incidents persists through these pages and should be required reading for any sober-minded countryman who wonders where his India is heading to. Just wish this revealing account had been better edited and proof-read to remove the constant repetition, the persistent misspellings of names and the other niggardly mistakes that bedevil this no-holds-barred story of the farce that Indian polity has been.
December 23, 2016
First and mostly, one might be grateful for being able to read this account of three decades of life of the author as an intelligence officer, at all. That it was allowed to be published seems a miracle, and while India is not an iron curtain or bamboo curtain state, such an account published even from someone of similar stature in UK or US would be just as much a reason for a reader to marvel at being able to read about what goes on behind the veils of government workings and politics.
Not that the author exposes what must not be done, and he often enough makes it clear explicitly. Still, there is much in terms of facts not generally known to public as such, and even while one discounts for subjective opinions and feelings of the author, one is quite astounded and daunted reading this account. That makes up for the few shortcomings of the writing to begin with, even though one comes across them all the while as one reads.
One such not so serious shortcoming is about language and small mistakes therein, which a good editor could have corrected. For that matter often writings of this nature are helped immensely by use of a professional writer so it is easier to read, too, but then both or either of these would have detracted from the original purpose of the book, which was to publish the manuscript as it was written by the author and found by his son.
Amongst other details that emerge here enabling a reader to see the picture in detail, an important one is about how the party that ruled for most of almost seven decades played it for power by hook or by crook post Nehru era. Apart from politics played in various states, and especially in the sensitive border states, all the more so in sensitive border states of Punjab and in Northeast, one single but horrendous detail that stands out is re protests sparked by infamous Mandal commission report that the government in late eighties attempted to implement.
It was obvious to anyone who watched the protests in Delhi by young students that the first boy who supposedly immolated himself and died, really did nothing of the sort - he was desperately trying to survive and was not allowed to; it is unimaginable that his fellow students would do anything but save him, do everything possible to save him, so it was obvious something else was afoot.
Dhar tells the readers, categorically, about the Indira congress conspiracy behind this - how they had promised to save him, told him to wear three trousers which he did, and then double crossed him reneging on their promises to save him, by pouring fuel rather than water on him (reminds one of the Lahore fire department pouring fuel instead of water on Hindu homes during partition when their neighbours and general Muslim mobs set fire to Hindu homes); this callousness by congress about lives of innocent Indian citizens is not new in view of all Dhar discloses, especially re Punjab, even re intelligence operatives, but does somehow stand above, being about a hapless young boy unsuspecting about congress using his (completely unintended by him) death to return to power.
And since by this time the party was a single family rule, one loses any vestiges of sympathy for those that were then and have been since at the helm.
Of course the most horrifying disclosure comes at the end, shedding a very different light on a late prime minister of India who was known more for his learned persona than for a questionable act at any time. That Dhar was punished for what was a confusion and blunder of several other characters in the drama despite his altogether correct behaviour, both in interests of his nation and in terms of official proprieties, only horrifies one more.
But then this last one is only one explicit wrong committed by political needs is amply clear in light of the various security lapses allowed by the so called or self termed secular parties in sphere of national security and awareness re operatives of terror export nations infiltrating agents in India, both via illegal migrations with aim of taking over whole territories and terror strikes via official visitors who simply disappear in the nation due to laxity on part of authorities in various states tom-tomming their secular credentials, as directed by the political leaders of the so called secular parties.
In this larger picture and the specific last incident both, while some officials might be to blame such as the IB boss in the last incident who was far less than required for his post, most blame lies with the political leaders who direct and decide policies re intelligence and security, as is also amply clear from this account. If police and intelligence operatives were used by the said so called secular political leaders for spying on opposition and told not to bother the agents of the terror export nation, they cannot be much faulted for towing the line in interest of their families' security and well being, and not wishing to be threatened physically or terminated wrongfully.
One surprising little detail one could mention is about how this author, like Guha, another of his community - Bengali - who is officially a historian, is about how both are so surprisingly so incorrect in something one would expect any Indian with a bringing up in India, and all the more so a Hindu, to know better about.
Both these well educated people state Krishna as being from Gujarat, which in light of how steeped in Krishna lore India is for millennia, is astounding. But Dhar had another surprising lack of awareness regarding the epic Mahabhaarata, which is that he does not recall Naagaas or Nagas being mentioned in Mahaabhaarata - and he should, since one of the most favourite names for a male in Bengal is Paartha or Paartho, a name of Arjuna, who was married to Chitraangadaa, a princess of Bengal (from Manipur as going by lines on map of today). She was the third wife of Arjuna, and the fourth was Uloupie the princess of Nagas or Naagaas, known also as Naagakanyaa or daughter of Naagaas. This relates to the word Naaga, understood throughout India to mean serpent or snake, worshipped generally but more specifically on Naagapanchamie, a festival day allotted to them.
And yet, Dhar seems to think the term or name Naaga has quite another meaning, related to a sect of monks - wonder if he is the only person so confused or there is a general confusion in Bengal? Then again, it might be that a background of East Bengal is the reason for this lack of comprehension re the difference of the two meanings of the word Naaga, one an ancient meaning and used all over India while other (related to the monks sect) more of a recent one, due mostly to reverence for the monks making India unwilling to use the precise word for naked and instead using a word similar but meaning snake.
On the whole a must read for anyone remotely interested in India as defined by the political boundaries of today but India as defined and understood since antiquity, which is the region in general.
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December 31, 2017
Even though many will consider this book as an attempt by Mr. Maloy Krishna Dhar to whitewash his career, the book is an absolute must for anyone such as who wants 1) to learn about the history (especially insurgent activities) of India’s NE states after independence 2) to understand the Sikh terrorism 3) the activities and achievements of India’s counter intelligence activities 4) the negligence of national securities by political leadership for flimsy and selfish reasons 5) the real state of affairs under Mrs. Indira Gandhi’s rule. It also gives the actual picture of Indian Intelligence bureau after independence as well the comical inertia inherited by Indian Bureaucracy from their British Masters. Even though we can read his resentment over the way he has been treated by his political and departmental masters, he gives some fine idea about the way the deficiencies in Intelligence gathering can be avoided. Between the time of retirement and the publication of this book, I believe Indian intelligence apparatus has changed drastically (except bureaucratic inertia) and same has not been properly reflected. This is the only drawback of the book. However, the book gives an interesting as well as alarming insight of secularism in India, Islamic terrorism as well as wrongly motivated Hindu orthodoxy. This alone makes the book a worthy for reading.
September 10, 2017
The Indian culture usually ignores history when history is one of the most important aspects of our lives. They say that those who don't learn from the history are doomed to repeat it and that's the reason why every Indian should read this book.
This book exposes the political class and shows their true face. They usually house behind their secularism grab, but whatever they say and do, most of them are in for the money and not for serving the nation, which is the reason why our infrastructure is non existent. To make matters worse, because of the British Raj, our own givernment has a colonial mentality towards the NorthEast and Kashmir.
One can get attention of the the government by taking up arms and even then political problems are dressed up as military problems.
Our CBI, IB, RAW work out of constitution and they have no accountability at all, every govt uses them for destroying their opposition parties.
We are far from being a democracy and the worst government ever was the VP Singh one (Janta Party the predecessor to BJP) which brought in the reservations for votes and they lost regardless of that.
This book exposes the political class and shows their true face. They usually house behind their secularism grab, but whatever they say and do, most of them are in for the money and not for serving the nation, which is the reason why our infrastructure is non existent. To make matters worse, because of the British Raj, our own givernment has a colonial mentality towards the NorthEast and Kashmir.
One can get attention of the the government by taking up arms and even then political problems are dressed up as military problems.
Our CBI, IB, RAW work out of constitution and they have no accountability at all, every govt uses them for destroying their opposition parties.
We are far from being a democracy and the worst government ever was the VP Singh one (Janta Party the predecessor to BJP) which brought in the reservations for votes and they lost regardless of that.
August 15, 2018
Open Secrets - Maloy Krishna Dhar
An awesome book by MK Dhar an intelligence officer with the Intelligence Beaurea (IB) in India, serving the organization for approximately 30 years, shares great stories around the northeast rebels, story fo sikkim, the emergency during Indira Gandhi's rule, the punjab khalistani operations, the ayodhya case, Bombay bomb blasts, the ways of pakistan based isi in creating instability in various parts of India especially Kashmir and punjab, the Indira Gandhi assassination, the Rajiv Gandhi assassination, the plight of the IB and RAW and CBI all very powerful organisation's that are only answerable to the highest office in the country being PMO, yet being used by political parties to gather intelligence around ensuring big vote banks and maintaining power. #BookLovers #LoveToRead
An awesome book by MK Dhar an intelligence officer with the Intelligence Beaurea (IB) in India, serving the organization for approximately 30 years, shares great stories around the northeast rebels, story fo sikkim, the emergency during Indira Gandhi's rule, the punjab khalistani operations, the ayodhya case, Bombay bomb blasts, the ways of pakistan based isi in creating instability in various parts of India especially Kashmir and punjab, the Indira Gandhi assassination, the Rajiv Gandhi assassination, the plight of the IB and RAW and CBI all very powerful organisation's that are only answerable to the highest office in the country being PMO, yet being used by political parties to gather intelligence around ensuring big vote banks and maintaining power. #BookLovers #LoveToRead
January 20, 2019
I am unsure if it was the writing or the dark reality of it's contents, that made me take over a year to finish this one. Probably a bit of the former and a lot of the later. As a citizen, it was thoroughly depressing to read about the senior bureaucrat's inept attitude and the resulting inaction on vital intelligence inputs, wreaking untold havoc on the country. Sprinkled liberally in between them were the attempts by government to subjugate the IB and use it to topple state governments or dig dirt on opponents to achieve petty political gains.
I have given it 5 stars not because I enjoyed reading it, but because I think many more need to pick this book up to learn what kind of a sham democracy we willingly live in.
I have given it 5 stars not because I enjoyed reading it, but because I think many more need to pick this book up to learn what kind of a sham democracy we willingly live in.
October 23, 2016
An intriguing read. Learnt a lot about the machinations of the IB. As can be expected, it is highly laced with the author's perspectives on what is right and what is not. Also goes to show how poor and unprofessional India's intelligence set-up is especially when compared to the likes of Israel. ( I had recently read a book on the Mossad - and the difference in capabilities between the two countries are startling).
The author has a good command over the language and has written very well. But I was surprised to see several typos and wrong constructs of languages off and on. Their copy editor seems to have let them down. It seems the book was rushed into publication.
The author has a good command over the language and has written very well. But I was surprised to see several typos and wrong constructs of languages off and on. Their copy editor seems to have let them down. It seems the book was rushed into publication.
December 31, 2014
The book is written by someone who was in the ring. Now is that better than ring-side view? Definitely shows how the politicians play spoiler & how Pakistan & China take advantage of it all. Its all know yet it provides an in-depth view on how we destroyed NE.
Its definitely a must read, how long can we avoid or steer clear of acknowledging that we have serious issues in NE that needs to be looked into. Army is not the solution that everybody can blame later. Its time we see this part of the nation stops feeling more akin to China & not India.
Its definitely a must read, how long can we avoid or steer clear of acknowledging that we have serious issues in NE that needs to be looked into. Army is not the solution that everybody can blame later. Its time we see this part of the nation stops feeling more akin to China & not India.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 22, 2017
"People of books turn to inflexibility and fundamentalism,when being provoked even slightly"
Open Secrets takes you on journey of deep and dirty corridors of Indian politics,revealing hidden truths and botched up decisions,which are impacting our life even today. I certainly recommend to anyone who is following leaders and their respective ideologies blindly.
This book is written with detail and efforts given by Maloy Dhar behind this book is reflected clearly. Open secret have enough fire in it,to shake anyone's belief in government. A must read for every Indian citizen.
Open Secrets takes you on journey of deep and dirty corridors of Indian politics,revealing hidden truths and botched up decisions,which are impacting our life even today. I certainly recommend to anyone who is following leaders and their respective ideologies blindly.
This book is written with detail and efforts given by Maloy Dhar behind this book is reflected clearly. Open secret have enough fire in it,to shake anyone's belief in government. A must read for every Indian citizen.
December 12, 2016
How politicians misuse the IB has been brought out clearly through the author's experiences. How they are not under control of anybody except the boss and there is no control over them by any parliamentary panel shows the dangers involved and the misuse of the apparatus by the political masters. The author advocates the IB to be created by an Act of parliament so that there activities are scrutinized in democracy.
September 13, 2017
Intelligence is a tool of statecraft.It helps the state to maintain peace at home and make war and peace abroad.Open secrets reveal how in India they are servants of the people in an elected constitutional democracy.In India an intelligence operator is considered as an officer, he is not an agent in the sense of CIA uses the word.He is often treated as a clerk.This is a big fallacy.A must-read for those that do not understand why some events occur in India the way they do.
October 15, 2015
Author Maloy Dhar has opened the Pandora box in this epic book. The reveals in this polemic will make the offenders squirm and quiver with fear. But the way Mr Maloy was abdicated from his drudgery will amuse the readers with equivalent pain. It's a proud feeling that such eloquent and non corrupt individuals are( or probably were) a part of our system.
Long live Mr Dhar.
Long live Mr Dhar.
March 18, 2018
A book full of insights ...
I liked the book for some of its explosive information. It also cleared my understanding of the Sikkim annexation, the Punjab crisis, and the inner dealings of the Indian politicians. The only drawback is the tendency of the author to get into too much detail on certain issues which are mundane and boring in itself.
I liked the book for some of its explosive information. It also cleared my understanding of the Sikkim annexation, the Punjab crisis, and the inner dealings of the Indian politicians. The only drawback is the tendency of the author to get into too much detail on certain issues which are mundane and boring in itself.
September 10, 2019
A must read eye opener
An amazing book that exposes the power hunger of politicians and bureaucrats to the extent that they don't mind acting against the national interests, fooling the common people with nationalism laced narratives. An eye opener, must read about how innocent civilians have been used as pawns in the political game of chess.
An amazing book that exposes the power hunger of politicians and bureaucrats to the extent that they don't mind acting against the national interests, fooling the common people with nationalism laced narratives. An eye opener, must read about how innocent civilians have been used as pawns in the political game of chess.
October 2, 2019
The kindle edition is infested with grammatical mistakes and typos. Maybe it wasn't ever proofread.
Nevertheless, I loved the book. Pretty insightful in various topics like khalistan, NorthEast disturbances, and the ISRO espionage case. The book was repetitive at places though.
This was definitely way better than the overhyped 'Kaoboys of R&AW'.
Nevertheless, I loved the book. Pretty insightful in various topics like khalistan, NorthEast disturbances, and the ISRO espionage case. The book was repetitive at places though.
This was definitely way better than the overhyped 'Kaoboys of R&AW'.
July 13, 2012
authors stint in the early part of his carrier in north east was interesting to read, i got the feeling after reading the book that our politicians dont take our security seriously. However i dont agree with the authors view that babri demolition was not good for india.
September 6, 2015
Maloy Krishna Dhar brings out certain details which are indeed 'explosive' and 'exposing'. But then the book needs better curation, edit, and content review. The content doesn't flow coherently and content is repetitive.
October 5, 2017
A well written book about IB, CBI, RAW
Lot of grammatical errors or missing words in sent. But the flow is great and gives a clear view of what India has undergone in the name of its security
Lot of grammatical errors or missing words in sent. But the flow is great and gives a clear view of what India has undergone in the name of its security
October 21, 2017
Wonderful full book. Shows the true colours of the political people
Introductory to the working style of INTELIGENCE BUREAU. Shows how the politicians destroy our wonderful country and never given priority to national interest.
Introductory to the working style of INTELIGENCE BUREAU. Shows how the politicians destroy our wonderful country and never given priority to national interest.
September 23, 2018
The Stuggles of a civil servant
Describes the challenges a civil servant has to undergo.This is as tough as the soldiers on the borders. The civil servant has to fight the enemy within the system he is working. Incredible.
Describes the challenges a civil servant has to undergo.This is as tough as the soldiers on the borders. The civil servant has to fight the enemy within the system he is working. Incredible.
August 1, 2019
Open Secrets: The Explosive Memoirs of an Indian Intelligence Officer by Maloy Krishna Dhar... A controversial account of the IB officer, truth out in the open, took some time to digest certain facts dealt in the book....
July 5, 2018
Know better about IB
Good book to know details about how intelligence bureau (ib) of India operates. challenges with our so called secular democracy and politicians
Good book to know details about how intelligence bureau (ib) of India operates. challenges with our so called secular democracy and politicians
October 20, 2017
Excellent book, but a little bit too verbose going into the psychology and what could have been done...
April 8, 2018
nice eye opener
May 12, 2018
Written by an ex-IB officer, the book gives a first hand account of life in Indian government and political environment. A must read for every Indian nationalist.
April 25, 2019
Intriguing.. When politics and bureaucracy meddle with intelligence.. Mess results.. A bit biased, but harsh truth nonetheless!
May 12, 2019
I saw a clip from this book then excited to read it... very nice....it is
Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews