What do you think?
Rate this book
The War That Made R&AW
‘Knowledge is power, and the proverb holds true for Intelligence agencies more than any other entity.’ Two events in the 1960s underlined the urgent need to restructure and revitalise India’s Intelligence the 1962 war against China, and the one against Pakistan in 1965, both shocking instances of failures in information gathering. The officer who would be given charge of this task was R.N. Kao—someone as unlike romanticised ideals of spies in films and novels as possible. The founder-chief of India’s Research and Analysis Wing lived and operated from the shadows. Understated and gentlemanly, he may not have looked the part, but Kao undoubtedly put Indian Intelligence on the world map. In this riveting book, authors Anusha Nandakumar and Sandeep Saket trace the roots of modern Indian espionage, and describe the newly formed R&AW’s integral role in the liberation of Bangladesh. Kao had one goal, to build an Intelligence-gathering agency that would ensure the security and integrity of India. And eventually, the legend of the ‘Kaoboys’—the nickname given to the team he built—would spread far and wide. This is the compelling tale of how it started; of covert operations, courage and quick thinking; and of how wars are won as much off the battlefield as on it.
252 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 12, 2021
37 people are currently reading
438 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
August 10, 2021
A brave attempt to compile all cliches of the English language perpetrated upon Indians over decades, crammed into a 10th grade essay that refused to end at 1000 words.
Film school seems to have aided the authors greatly in delivering us this 'book'. Where they did not find sufficient historical backing to the story they wished to tell, unperturbed, they filled the gaps with imagination.
The prose masterfully weaves in and out of exposition and juvenile dialogue making sure you are never at ease while reading this book. One is constantly unnerved with a silent sound whispering in your ear - 'if they could land a book deal, so can you'.
Exemplary skill has been displayed in sniffing out just the thing that will make OTT execs fall over each other to chuck a series deal at the authors. They have wasted no time in superfluous tasks such as primary research - aided by a cursory Google search, they have cited blogs, articles and couple of other books as sources for their entire publication.
Now I patiently await the impending two-season Hotstar Originals. The question remains: will the creators be able resist the urge to carve out a role for Radhika Apte in Season 1? We shall soon find out.
Film school seems to have aided the authors greatly in delivering us this 'book'. Where they did not find sufficient historical backing to the story they wished to tell, unperturbed, they filled the gaps with imagination.
The prose masterfully weaves in and out of exposition and juvenile dialogue making sure you are never at ease while reading this book. One is constantly unnerved with a silent sound whispering in your ear - 'if they could land a book deal, so can you'.
Exemplary skill has been displayed in sniffing out just the thing that will make OTT execs fall over each other to chuck a series deal at the authors. They have wasted no time in superfluous tasks such as primary research - aided by a cursory Google search, they have cited blogs, articles and couple of other books as sources for their entire publication.
Now I patiently await the impending two-season Hotstar Originals. The question remains: will the creators be able resist the urge to carve out a role for Radhika Apte in Season 1? We shall soon find out.
April 16, 2022
A good book about the creation of R&AW (referred to as "agency" here), the espionage arm of the Indian govt. The agency came into being in the 1960s with the bare minimum resources founded by -R N Kao. Together with a couple of other officers from the Imperial Police Force (now the IPS), he was given the responsibility of creating the agency on the lines of CIA and KGB. The impact of the agency was felt the maximum in the 1971 Bangladesh independence movement.
The book gives a detailed account of the secession of Bangladesh from Pakistan under the leadership of its founding father Mujibur Rahman with the help of the agency and freedom fighters known as Mukti Bahini. A wonderful book, it throws light on the machinations of the Pakistan Army, the agency, and faulty maneuvres of Pakistani leadership which led to the downfall of Yahya Khan, the erstwhile president of Pakistan. It also gives a brief account of the Indo-Pak war in 1971, a result of the agency's act of active participation in securing Bangladeshi independence. A short and interesting read on creation of Bangladesh.
The book gives a detailed account of the secession of Bangladesh from Pakistan under the leadership of its founding father Mujibur Rahman with the help of the agency and freedom fighters known as Mukti Bahini. A wonderful book, it throws light on the machinations of the Pakistan Army, the agency, and faulty maneuvres of Pakistani leadership which led to the downfall of Yahya Khan, the erstwhile president of Pakistan. It also gives a brief account of the Indo-Pak war in 1971, a result of the agency's act of active participation in securing Bangladeshi independence. A short and interesting read on creation of Bangladesh.
May 28, 2021
There are few authentic books on India’s intelligence services. A principal reason is the secretive nature of India’s bureaucracy, government, scientific institutions, etc. The culture is one of withholding information rather than disseminating it to the public. When this is the case with routine bureaucratic business, it is little surprise that India puts intelligence matters hidden away like gold ingots. It is easier to find books written by experts on the CIA and the FBI or the MI5 and MI6. But we know little about RAW, the agency responsible for External Intelligence in India. RAW stands for Research and Analysis Wing, an obtuse name for an intelligence agency. This book covers the first three years of RAW after its formation in 1968. RAW put itself on the intelligence map of the world with its spectacular success in helping India pull off Bangladesh’s liberation in 1971. However, this book is about how RAW helped India win the 1971 war to create the new nation of Bangladesh. It was a combined effort of the Indian state, its military, its intelligence and the Bengali freedom fighters, the Mukti Bahini.
India created RAW on 21 September 1968. Its first chief was Rameshwar Nath Kao, a Kashmiri Pandit by birth. This book highlights the roles of three top RAW men in those years. They were Kao, Sankaran Nair and P.N. Banerjee. Nair succeeded Kao as head of RAW in 1978. Banerjee played a stellar role in the Bangladesh war, using his Bengali origins to full advantage. The team assembled by Kao came to be known as ‘the Kao boys’. Kao had an excellent rapport with his counterparts in various countries over the years. Israel’s Mossad could open doors for them with information about West Asia and North Africa. The KGB could help with the supply of arms and ammunition for operations. Kao’s relationship with the CIA had developed after India’s war with China in 1962. CIA instructors had trained the SFF, the secret and elite commando training programme for Tibetan refugees in India, designed to fight the Chinese Army in Tibet. A sizeable portion of the special force comprised Tibetan rebels. RAW mastered technological intelligence as early as the 1960s. The agency’s M.B.K. Nair set up an intercepting apparatus and established their first satellite communication check-post in Calcutta. Using the device, they could tap into Pakistan’s west-to-east communication.
The reader will have to read the book to get all the details of the birth of Bangladesh as it unfolded. It all started from the violent Pakistan military crackdown in March 1971. I would highlight two seminal RAW operations in 1971 which played stellar roles in knocking out the Pakistan Navy’s ability to be of any use in the ensuing war. One was Operation Jackpot, executed in August 1971. RAW agents blocked the major waterways of East Pakistan with four simultaneous attacks. It destroyed eleven ships of the Pakistan Navy in Chittagong, with zero casualties on the Indian side. The other operation involved two RAW agents, Rao and Murthy. Using a Parsi doctor who used to frequent between Bombay and Karachi, they stripped bare Pakistan’s Naval intelligence in Karachi. They got photographs of where the defensive structures lay and what their capabilities were. It gave the exact locations of the fuel storage facility and the naval ship moorings. Using this information, on 3 December 1971, as war began, the Indian Air Force carried out Operations Trident and Python to complete a naval blockade of Pakistan.
Apart from the above, the book does not provide any fresh revelations. Many anecdotes in the book have already appeared in various newspaper articles and magazines over the years. For example, the following details:
1) how misinformation about the berthing of INS Vikrant in Visakhapatnam deceived Pakistan into bringing their submarine Ghazi there and how INS Rajput sank it.
2) Laila Hussain was the wife of Muzaffar Hussain, chief secretary of the East Pakistan government. How RAW used her to make an approach to Bhutto and secure the safe return of Sheikh Mujib.
3) How India engineered the hijacking of its own Indian Airlines flight to Lahore. The aim was to deny Pakistan permission to use its airspace to fly from West Pakistan to East Pakistan.
4) That R.N. Kao was one of the six top-most spymasters in the world in the 1970s, according to the French Intelligence.
The book touches upon a couple of events about which the Indian press had expressed conflicting views in the 1970s. One of them was the massacre of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his entire extended family on 15 August 1975. The press believed the CIA assisted the rebel elements in the Bangladesh military to pull off a coup to the detriment of Bangladesh and India. They criticized RAW for not being able to foresee it and provide intelligence to prevent it. The second event was about the failure of Mrs. Gandhi’s government in securing a final settlement for Kashmir when we held 93000 Pakistani prisoners. Many saw India’s victory as an opportunity to sort out the Kashmir issue once and for all. The argument went that India should have used them as a bargaining chip to force Pakistan to return POK (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir). Or make them accept the LOC (Line of Control) as the settled border between India and Pakistan. The book counters both contentions as follows.
The authors say that RAW had received Intel of an alleged meeting in Dhaka between Maj. Rashid, Major Farooq and Lt. Col. Usmani at Ziaur Rahman’s residence. It took place four months before the murder of the Bangladesh prime minister in August 1975. The outcome of the meeting had been the decision to stage a coup. During the three-hour session, one participant had doodled on a scrap of paper, which he then threw into a wastebasket. A clerk retrieved the paper from the rubbish pile and passed it on to a RAW operative. The information reached New Delhi. Kao himself rushed to Dhaka and met with Sheikh Mujib and had an hour-long meeting with him. He could not convince Rahman that a coup was brewing and that his life was in danger. This, despite his giving Mujib the names of those who India suspected would carry out the coup. Four months later, the prime minister of Bangladesh got assassinated.
On India’s failure to settle the Kashmir question, many nationalists forget Pakistan still had Sheikh Mujib in prison in Rawalpindi when India liberated Bangladesh in Dec 1971. The Pakistani military, its public, and its media were baying for his blood as a traitor. It would have been a pyrrhic victory for India, and Bangladesh had Mujib hung by a noose at the dawn of independence. The book shows it was a genuine possibility. Only the heroic efforts of the Superintendent of the Pindi prison saved Mujib’s life before RAW arranged a deal between Mrs. Gandhi and Bhutto. No one knows what transpired between Bhutto and Mrs. Gandhi. But it is fair to assume that the return of the 93000 prisoners was the chip which secured the life and safe return to Dhaka of Sheikh Mujib. India was also clear that the political aim of the war did not extend beyond liberating Bangladesh. Talking about the Kashmir issue at such a juncture would only confirm the Pakistani accusation that an imperialist agenda had motivated India all along in the war. For all its proclamations of non-alignment and third-world solidarity, India found itself without friends during the war. Only the USSR and its allies in Eastern Europe supported India. The UN General Assembly censured India despite the rightness of its cause. India had to fund the refugee relief from its own impoverished masses. India’s ‘friends’ in the Islamic world, Jordan, Turkey, Iran and Egypt, transferred fighter aircraft to Pakistan. It bolstered their Islamic brethren, even though India had more Muslims than Pakistan in 1971. Hence, it was prudent and realistic of Mrs. Gandhi to accomplish just what India set out to achieve. And that was to make East Pakistan a separate nation, friendly to India.
The book concludes with a deserving tribute to R.N. Kao, calling him a hero, who the nation admires for his courage, outstanding achievements and noble qualities. It is a timely and fast-paced book, coinciding with the Golden Jubilee of Bangladesh’s creation.
India created RAW on 21 September 1968. Its first chief was Rameshwar Nath Kao, a Kashmiri Pandit by birth. This book highlights the roles of three top RAW men in those years. They were Kao, Sankaran Nair and P.N. Banerjee. Nair succeeded Kao as head of RAW in 1978. Banerjee played a stellar role in the Bangladesh war, using his Bengali origins to full advantage. The team assembled by Kao came to be known as ‘the Kao boys’. Kao had an excellent rapport with his counterparts in various countries over the years. Israel’s Mossad could open doors for them with information about West Asia and North Africa. The KGB could help with the supply of arms and ammunition for operations. Kao’s relationship with the CIA had developed after India’s war with China in 1962. CIA instructors had trained the SFF, the secret and elite commando training programme for Tibetan refugees in India, designed to fight the Chinese Army in Tibet. A sizeable portion of the special force comprised Tibetan rebels. RAW mastered technological intelligence as early as the 1960s. The agency’s M.B.K. Nair set up an intercepting apparatus and established their first satellite communication check-post in Calcutta. Using the device, they could tap into Pakistan’s west-to-east communication.
The reader will have to read the book to get all the details of the birth of Bangladesh as it unfolded. It all started from the violent Pakistan military crackdown in March 1971. I would highlight two seminal RAW operations in 1971 which played stellar roles in knocking out the Pakistan Navy’s ability to be of any use in the ensuing war. One was Operation Jackpot, executed in August 1971. RAW agents blocked the major waterways of East Pakistan with four simultaneous attacks. It destroyed eleven ships of the Pakistan Navy in Chittagong, with zero casualties on the Indian side. The other operation involved two RAW agents, Rao and Murthy. Using a Parsi doctor who used to frequent between Bombay and Karachi, they stripped bare Pakistan’s Naval intelligence in Karachi. They got photographs of where the defensive structures lay and what their capabilities were. It gave the exact locations of the fuel storage facility and the naval ship moorings. Using this information, on 3 December 1971, as war began, the Indian Air Force carried out Operations Trident and Python to complete a naval blockade of Pakistan.
Apart from the above, the book does not provide any fresh revelations. Many anecdotes in the book have already appeared in various newspaper articles and magazines over the years. For example, the following details:
1) how misinformation about the berthing of INS Vikrant in Visakhapatnam deceived Pakistan into bringing their submarine Ghazi there and how INS Rajput sank it.
2) Laila Hussain was the wife of Muzaffar Hussain, chief secretary of the East Pakistan government. How RAW used her to make an approach to Bhutto and secure the safe return of Sheikh Mujib.
3) How India engineered the hijacking of its own Indian Airlines flight to Lahore. The aim was to deny Pakistan permission to use its airspace to fly from West Pakistan to East Pakistan.
4) That R.N. Kao was one of the six top-most spymasters in the world in the 1970s, according to the French Intelligence.
The book touches upon a couple of events about which the Indian press had expressed conflicting views in the 1970s. One of them was the massacre of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his entire extended family on 15 August 1975. The press believed the CIA assisted the rebel elements in the Bangladesh military to pull off a coup to the detriment of Bangladesh and India. They criticized RAW for not being able to foresee it and provide intelligence to prevent it. The second event was about the failure of Mrs. Gandhi’s government in securing a final settlement for Kashmir when we held 93000 Pakistani prisoners. Many saw India’s victory as an opportunity to sort out the Kashmir issue once and for all. The argument went that India should have used them as a bargaining chip to force Pakistan to return POK (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir). Or make them accept the LOC (Line of Control) as the settled border between India and Pakistan. The book counters both contentions as follows.
The authors say that RAW had received Intel of an alleged meeting in Dhaka between Maj. Rashid, Major Farooq and Lt. Col. Usmani at Ziaur Rahman’s residence. It took place four months before the murder of the Bangladesh prime minister in August 1975. The outcome of the meeting had been the decision to stage a coup. During the three-hour session, one participant had doodled on a scrap of paper, which he then threw into a wastebasket. A clerk retrieved the paper from the rubbish pile and passed it on to a RAW operative. The information reached New Delhi. Kao himself rushed to Dhaka and met with Sheikh Mujib and had an hour-long meeting with him. He could not convince Rahman that a coup was brewing and that his life was in danger. This, despite his giving Mujib the names of those who India suspected would carry out the coup. Four months later, the prime minister of Bangladesh got assassinated.
On India’s failure to settle the Kashmir question, many nationalists forget Pakistan still had Sheikh Mujib in prison in Rawalpindi when India liberated Bangladesh in Dec 1971. The Pakistani military, its public, and its media were baying for his blood as a traitor. It would have been a pyrrhic victory for India, and Bangladesh had Mujib hung by a noose at the dawn of independence. The book shows it was a genuine possibility. Only the heroic efforts of the Superintendent of the Pindi prison saved Mujib’s life before RAW arranged a deal between Mrs. Gandhi and Bhutto. No one knows what transpired between Bhutto and Mrs. Gandhi. But it is fair to assume that the return of the 93000 prisoners was the chip which secured the life and safe return to Dhaka of Sheikh Mujib. India was also clear that the political aim of the war did not extend beyond liberating Bangladesh. Talking about the Kashmir issue at such a juncture would only confirm the Pakistani accusation that an imperialist agenda had motivated India all along in the war. For all its proclamations of non-alignment and third-world solidarity, India found itself without friends during the war. Only the USSR and its allies in Eastern Europe supported India. The UN General Assembly censured India despite the rightness of its cause. India had to fund the refugee relief from its own impoverished masses. India’s ‘friends’ in the Islamic world, Jordan, Turkey, Iran and Egypt, transferred fighter aircraft to Pakistan. It bolstered their Islamic brethren, even though India had more Muslims than Pakistan in 1971. Hence, it was prudent and realistic of Mrs. Gandhi to accomplish just what India set out to achieve. And that was to make East Pakistan a separate nation, friendly to India.
The book concludes with a deserving tribute to R.N. Kao, calling him a hero, who the nation admires for his courage, outstanding achievements and noble qualities. It is a timely and fast-paced book, coinciding with the Golden Jubilee of Bangladesh’s creation.
October 3, 2021
21st September, 1968 - The Birth of the Mysterious Puzzle; R&AW.
There might be many black spots on the Gandhi family regime in Indian political history, but one can't reject the contribution of Indira Gandhi contribution in the formation of R&AW.
She didn't have the faith in IB on the external matter, she visualized the near future while insisted and initiated the formation of R&AW. And it proved to be one of the biggest game-changing bodies of India to date. Now let's talk about the book.
.
.
One can't realize at a first glance whether the book is a spy fiction or non-fictional book until they came across the footnotes and biblical references. The book is about the formation of R&AW, the KAOBOYS, the liberation of Bangladesh, about one of the greatest spymasters of India, R N KAO, the tactical and psychological genius, and the joint contribution of Gandhi and Kao in Bangladesh's freedom movement and in helping Sheikh Mujibur Rahman during the genocide initiated by Pakistan's then government. There are lots of key points which I have highlighted throughout the book.
Some of these are about
- IB's failure which helps in forming R&AW
- Kao's making of spies and recruiting them cross-borders,
- the US-Britain duality, Chinese aggression, and conspiracy
- Israel-Russia's friendly behavior during the genocide towards India
- The PNS Ghazi attack
- Bangladesh liberation's complete timeline and events.
and many more. Adding some of the important highlighted parts in the carousel.
- The detailed descriptions of some operations; Op Gibraltar, Larkana Conspiracy, Op Searchlight, Op Jackpot, Op Trident & Python, Tangail drop, Op Meghna Heli Bridge.
.
.
The biblical references will surely make a reader collect and read each and everything related to this event, apart from the classified and confidential documents which one certainly can not access. I hope you will love reading it while getting thrilled throughout the book. Anyway, I would love to see a documentary or mini-series out of this someday, as I have finished watching The Spy, the biographical mini-series of Eli Cohen, the greatest spy of Mossad a few days back. Happy reading.
There might be many black spots on the Gandhi family regime in Indian political history, but one can't reject the contribution of Indira Gandhi contribution in the formation of R&AW.
She didn't have the faith in IB on the external matter, she visualized the near future while insisted and initiated the formation of R&AW. And it proved to be one of the biggest game-changing bodies of India to date. Now let's talk about the book.
.
.
One can't realize at a first glance whether the book is a spy fiction or non-fictional book until they came across the footnotes and biblical references. The book is about the formation of R&AW, the KAOBOYS, the liberation of Bangladesh, about one of the greatest spymasters of India, R N KAO, the tactical and psychological genius, and the joint contribution of Gandhi and Kao in Bangladesh's freedom movement and in helping Sheikh Mujibur Rahman during the genocide initiated by Pakistan's then government. There are lots of key points which I have highlighted throughout the book.
Some of these are about
- IB's failure which helps in forming R&AW
- Kao's making of spies and recruiting them cross-borders,
- the US-Britain duality, Chinese aggression, and conspiracy
- Israel-Russia's friendly behavior during the genocide towards India
- The PNS Ghazi attack
- Bangladesh liberation's complete timeline and events.
and many more. Adding some of the important highlighted parts in the carousel.
- The detailed descriptions of some operations; Op Gibraltar, Larkana Conspiracy, Op Searchlight, Op Jackpot, Op Trident & Python, Tangail drop, Op Meghna Heli Bridge.
.
.
The biblical references will surely make a reader collect and read each and everything related to this event, apart from the classified and confidential documents which one certainly can not access. I hope you will love reading it while getting thrilled throughout the book. Anyway, I would love to see a documentary or mini-series out of this someday, as I have finished watching The Spy, the biographical mini-series of Eli Cohen, the greatest spy of Mossad a few days back. Happy reading.
December 29, 2024
The war that made R&AW is the story behind the creation of a clandestine organization, its founding father, his team, their heroic deeds, and the war that led to the birth of a new nation, post World War II.
Espionage, or the art of intelligence gathering, is an ancient statecraft. In fact, in Kautilya's Arthashastra, which was written around 300 BCE, the author had mentioned some important points that a king or a ruler should not only follow to protect his or her empire from the enemies but also to avoid conflict with other kingdoms.
These are the following seven principles (or ideas) mentioned in the Arthashastra, a treatise on statecraft:
Sama - Negotiations
Dama - Reward
Dand - Punishment
Bheda - Discord or Division
Maya - Deceit, or Treachery
Upeksha - Ignore
Indrajal - Psychology war, Deception
Even today, in this era of high-end modern warfare where different nations have different capabilities of intelligence gathering, no one can afford to miss the golden rules mentioned above. Especially those countries that are surrounded by hostile neighbors.
But, sometimes people or even states ignore great people or ingenious ideas who shouldn't have been ignored at all. The same omissions India made after gaining independence in August 1947, when the people in power brushed off the evergreen rules of Kautilya.
The results of those mistakes were the wars of Indo-China of 1962 and the 1965 Indo-Pak.
These wars led to the creation of an organization that, with time, became a force to reckon with. This agency of subterfuge came to be known as the one and only, R&AW.
So, let's unravel the story of this Indian spy agency.
What is the war that made R&AW?
The war that made R&AW by Anusha Nandakumar and Sandeep Saket is a concisely written book about the creation of independent India's external intelligence agency, R&AW. And the latter's role in the creation of Bangladesh.
The main USP of this book is that it's easy to read. In fact, even a layperson can finish it in a day or two. Although, you will only get a glimpse of the entire story.
Do or Die -
In the year 1942, Mahatma Gandhi gave the slogan, Do or Die, while launching his Quit India movement against British colonialism. Although the movement didn't succeed, the slogan outlived the cause.
The situation that India found itself surrounded with in the 1960s needed its now-or-never kind of moment. The reason was simple. In 1962, India lost a battle with China. Poor intelligence and the overconfidence of the then-political leadership were some of the main causes behind that loss.
In 1965, Pakistan launched Operation Gibraltar, which led to the second Indo-Pak war. Although India won the war. But, again, it was an intelligence failure. A country like India, which is surrounded by hostile neighbors like Pakistan and China, can't afford to lose its guards.
So, it was decided to form an intelligence agency, precisely an external intelligence agency. Because, at that time, the IB, Intelligence Bureau, was managing India's internal as well as external security.
And the task to create a new organization from scratch falls on the shoulders of a man by the name of R. N. Kao. The then Prime Minister of India, Indira Feroze Gandhi, and her principal advisor, P. N. Haskar, gave their full support to Kao.
And in September 1968, a new organization came into its being. It was named R&AW, Research and Analysis Wing. It was the brainchild of Rameshwar Nath Kao, the founding father and the first chief of modern India's external intelligence agency.
Although the term R&AW was given by the then cabinet secretary, D. S. Joshi.
West Pakistan, East Pakistan, and the conflict -
In August 1947, a new nation by the name of Pakistan was born. At that time it was divided into two wings, West Pakistan (now Pakistan) and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). Both the wings were separated by thousands of miles, and in between them was India. The only factor that attached them together was Islam.
Other than the religious factor, there were an uncountable number of differences between the people of these two wings. In fact, since its inception in 1947, the people of West Pakistan started dominating the economy, bureaucracy, army, and politics of the nation.
This hegemony of West Pakistan towards East Pakistan led to the resentment of the latter towards the former.
In fact, in 1948, the founding father of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, came to the capital of East Pakistan, Dhaka, and said in clear terms that Urdu would be considered the national language of Pakistan.
This statement bewildered the people of East Pakistan, as their mother tongue was Bengali. This led to the start of a movement that came to be known as the 'Bhasha andolan' or the language movement.
People of different cues came in to support this movement. From students to teachers, everyone gave their support. A new party by the name of the Muslim Awami League, later the Awami League, was formed in East Pakistan.
A new leader, In fact, a charismatic man by the name of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman also came to the light during the andolan. This young man was renowned for his energetic speeches.
Although, somehow, the leaders and the authorities managed to quell the movement. But it sowed the seeds of secession, which fructified in December 1971.
Coup After Coup -
In its seventy-plus years of independence, Pakistan has seen three coups. In fact, within eleven years of independence, Pakistan experienced its first coup.
In 1958, Field Marshal Ayub Khan took the reins of power in his own hands. The so-called rule of the civilians-cum-bureaucrats was overthrown by him and the Pakistani Army.
With that push, the dominance of the army began, which remained unabated to date. In fact, Ayub Khan had a disdain towards the Bengalis of East Pakistan, his own citizens. They considered Bengalis as inferiors, and they treated them as second-class citizens.
In fact, West Pakistan developed at the expense of East Pakistan. The latter became a backwater. And the people of East Pakistan realized how vulnerable they were when Pakistan and India fought the 1965 war. All the focus of the Pakistani Army was towards the safety and security of West Pakistan. The people of East Pakistan were left alone in the midst of a war.
After the failure of the second Indo-Pak war, voices were heard in the corridors of West Pakistan against Ayub Khan. Although, he remained in power until 1969 when he finally relented and passed on the reins of the power to Yahya Khan, another army man.
Yahya Khan, the man who enjoyed a hedonistic lifestyle. In fact, the cruelty and horror that Yahya Khan unleashed on the people of East Pakistan remained in the annals of history as a pogrom. Although, it also led to the birth of a new nation.
Bangladesh and Research and Analysis Wing -
In December 1970, Yahya Khan announced general elections for the national assembly of Pakistan. He, along with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, father of the first woman Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, thought that they would easily win the elections. But they were wrong.
The Awami League, under the leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, won the highest number of seats in the general elections. And the people of West Pakistan, especially Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Yahya Khan, were miffed with the outcome of the results. So, they did what they knew the best. They delayed the meeting of the national assembly. They can't fathom that a Bengali of East Pakistan would become a prime minister and rule over them.
Although riots were already started in East Pakistan because of the colonial attitude of the West Pakistan. As they were not ready to accept the election results.
R. N. Kao, his team members, and the prime minister of India, Indira Feroze Gandhi, were also monitoring the chaos that was going on in East Pakistan. Although, at that time, India couldn't do anything because it was the era of the Cold War. The nations like the United States, China, and the UK were supporting Pakistan. So, India decided to wait and watch.
On 25th March 1971, Operation Searchlight was launched by the army of Pakistan (West Pakistan) against their own people, East Pakistan. Yahya Khan appointed General Tikka Khan for this monstrous act. And the latter committed horrors against the people of East Pakistan that he earned the sobriquet of the 'Butcher of Bengal.'.
Within a span of a few days, the Pakistani Army killed multitudes of people of East Pakistan. Rape, torture, and mutilation of human bodies became the law of the land. In fact, they also arrested Mujibur Rahman, and they sent him to one of the jails of West Pakistan.
Although the Pakistani Army nor their leadership were aware that R&AW under the leadership of Rameshwar Nath Kao had already planned something else for them.
R&AW had cultivated several assets amongst the nationalist Bengalis who were ready to do anything for Mujibur Rahman and the birth of Bangladesh. Some of them remained in East Pakistan, and they used to pass vital information about the activities of the Pakistani Army to their Indian handlers.
In fact, several militias were raised by the R&AW. The most famous amongst all of them was Mukti Bahini. These people were either the former Bengali soldiers of the Pakistani Army who defected to India after the Operation Searchlight or those people who espoused Bengali nationalism.
As the Pakistani Army continued to commit crimes in East Pakistan. India also started preparing for war. Although the then Indian Army Chief, General Sam Manekshaw, told Indira Gandhi very clearly that the armed forces were not ready for war. Attacking the Pakistani army in East Pakistan during the months of June-September, when the monsoon season is at its peak, would be like committing harakiri. They had to wait for the appropriate time.
In fact, Indira Feroze Gandhi knew very well that if India attacked Pakistan, then the whole world would raise a hue and cry. And they will portray India as the aggressor. So, she, along with her team, started touring the capitals of different nations. They told them about the crimes that the Pakistani armed forces were committing in East Pakistan.
In fact, R&AW also started a PR campaign, and they invited journalists of all shades to the camps where the victims of East Pakistan were residing. The world was shocked when they saw the conditions of those Bengalis. This was before the era of social media. But R. N. Kao and his people managed to do this. A feat in itself.
Although the situation in East Pakistan was getting worse day by day. But the guerrilla warfare tactics of the Indian spy agency were also showing their results. The Mukti Bahini, the Mujib Bahini, managed to inflict substantial damage on both the men and the logistics of the Pakistani Army.
In fact, India was also able to infiltrate their agents in the highest echelons of the Pakistani authorities. They got the information that Pakistan will attack India. On December 1, 1971. The whole Indian Army, which became ready to attack as they got the necessary time to prepare, remained on high alert. Although no attack came. They waited for 48 hours, and finally, on December 3, 1971, Pakistan unilaterally attacked India. The plan worked.
In fact, within 13 days the war ended. Pakistan had lost the battle. On 16th December 1971, the Instrument of Surrender was signed by Lt. Gen. A. A. K. Niazi of the Pakistani Army at Ramna Race Course in Dhaka. He surrendered to Lt. Gen. Jagjit Singh Aurora, joint commander of the Bangladesh-India allied forces.
In fact, not only did the Pakistani Army surrender, but India had taken around 93,000 prisoners of war (POWs), including Pakistani soldiers and their collaborators. It was the largest number of POWs taken into custody since World War II.
R&AW, under the visionary leadership of Rameshwar Nath Kao, gained a place in the annals of history, especially in the world of intelligence agencies. They were the architects of a new nation, Bangladesh. A nation for the Bengalis, by the Bengalis, and with the blood and toil of the Indian Army and its secret agents.
Work smart and stay humble.
There are too many differences between a real hero and a reel hero, aren't there? Similarly, a patriot will do whatever it demands for the safety and the integrity of his or her country.
You won't hear from a patriot or a real hero (heroine) that people should put their posters all over the country. Nor do they want an unnecessary paean for them. They just do their work diligently and silently. They work in silence. Sometimes we know their names and sometimes we don't.
When Rameshwar Nath Kao created R&AW, he knew that there were chances that people may or may not remember him or his team members. But the work that they started should continue no matter what. This is the definition of a real hero or a patriot.
It's not only the responsibility of every sane Indian to read about such great people, but it is also necessary to remember the deeds of these great souls, which they did for the welfare of this country, which we proudly say, Bharat Mata (Mother India).
Let me conclude with a bon mot—
The life of a spy is to know and not to be known.
I hope you like this. Thanks for reading. Jai Hind.
Espionage, or the art of intelligence gathering, is an ancient statecraft. In fact, in Kautilya's Arthashastra, which was written around 300 BCE, the author had mentioned some important points that a king or a ruler should not only follow to protect his or her empire from the enemies but also to avoid conflict with other kingdoms.
These are the following seven principles (or ideas) mentioned in the Arthashastra, a treatise on statecraft:
Sama - Negotiations
Dama - Reward
Dand - Punishment
Bheda - Discord or Division
Maya - Deceit, or Treachery
Upeksha - Ignore
Indrajal - Psychology war, Deception
Even today, in this era of high-end modern warfare where different nations have different capabilities of intelligence gathering, no one can afford to miss the golden rules mentioned above. Especially those countries that are surrounded by hostile neighbors.
But, sometimes people or even states ignore great people or ingenious ideas who shouldn't have been ignored at all. The same omissions India made after gaining independence in August 1947, when the people in power brushed off the evergreen rules of Kautilya.
The results of those mistakes were the wars of Indo-China of 1962 and the 1965 Indo-Pak.
These wars led to the creation of an organization that, with time, became a force to reckon with. This agency of subterfuge came to be known as the one and only, R&AW.
So, let's unravel the story of this Indian spy agency.
What is the war that made R&AW?
The war that made R&AW by Anusha Nandakumar and Sandeep Saket is a concisely written book about the creation of independent India's external intelligence agency, R&AW. And the latter's role in the creation of Bangladesh.
The main USP of this book is that it's easy to read. In fact, even a layperson can finish it in a day or two. Although, you will only get a glimpse of the entire story.
Do or Die -
In the year 1942, Mahatma Gandhi gave the slogan, Do or Die, while launching his Quit India movement against British colonialism. Although the movement didn't succeed, the slogan outlived the cause.
The situation that India found itself surrounded with in the 1960s needed its now-or-never kind of moment. The reason was simple. In 1962, India lost a battle with China. Poor intelligence and the overconfidence of the then-political leadership were some of the main causes behind that loss.
In 1965, Pakistan launched Operation Gibraltar, which led to the second Indo-Pak war. Although India won the war. But, again, it was an intelligence failure. A country like India, which is surrounded by hostile neighbors like Pakistan and China, can't afford to lose its guards.
So, it was decided to form an intelligence agency, precisely an external intelligence agency. Because, at that time, the IB, Intelligence Bureau, was managing India's internal as well as external security.
And the task to create a new organization from scratch falls on the shoulders of a man by the name of R. N. Kao. The then Prime Minister of India, Indira Feroze Gandhi, and her principal advisor, P. N. Haskar, gave their full support to Kao.
And in September 1968, a new organization came into its being. It was named R&AW, Research and Analysis Wing. It was the brainchild of Rameshwar Nath Kao, the founding father and the first chief of modern India's external intelligence agency.
Although the term R&AW was given by the then cabinet secretary, D. S. Joshi.
West Pakistan, East Pakistan, and the conflict -
In August 1947, a new nation by the name of Pakistan was born. At that time it was divided into two wings, West Pakistan (now Pakistan) and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). Both the wings were separated by thousands of miles, and in between them was India. The only factor that attached them together was Islam.
Other than the religious factor, there were an uncountable number of differences between the people of these two wings. In fact, since its inception in 1947, the people of West Pakistan started dominating the economy, bureaucracy, army, and politics of the nation.
This hegemony of West Pakistan towards East Pakistan led to the resentment of the latter towards the former.
In fact, in 1948, the founding father of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, came to the capital of East Pakistan, Dhaka, and said in clear terms that Urdu would be considered the national language of Pakistan.
This statement bewildered the people of East Pakistan, as their mother tongue was Bengali. This led to the start of a movement that came to be known as the 'Bhasha andolan' or the language movement.
People of different cues came in to support this movement. From students to teachers, everyone gave their support. A new party by the name of the Muslim Awami League, later the Awami League, was formed in East Pakistan.
A new leader, In fact, a charismatic man by the name of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman also came to the light during the andolan. This young man was renowned for his energetic speeches.
Although, somehow, the leaders and the authorities managed to quell the movement. But it sowed the seeds of secession, which fructified in December 1971.
Coup After Coup -
In its seventy-plus years of independence, Pakistan has seen three coups. In fact, within eleven years of independence, Pakistan experienced its first coup.
In 1958, Field Marshal Ayub Khan took the reins of power in his own hands. The so-called rule of the civilians-cum-bureaucrats was overthrown by him and the Pakistani Army.
With that push, the dominance of the army began, which remained unabated to date. In fact, Ayub Khan had a disdain towards the Bengalis of East Pakistan, his own citizens. They considered Bengalis as inferiors, and they treated them as second-class citizens.
In fact, West Pakistan developed at the expense of East Pakistan. The latter became a backwater. And the people of East Pakistan realized how vulnerable they were when Pakistan and India fought the 1965 war. All the focus of the Pakistani Army was towards the safety and security of West Pakistan. The people of East Pakistan were left alone in the midst of a war.
After the failure of the second Indo-Pak war, voices were heard in the corridors of West Pakistan against Ayub Khan. Although, he remained in power until 1969 when he finally relented and passed on the reins of the power to Yahya Khan, another army man.
Yahya Khan, the man who enjoyed a hedonistic lifestyle. In fact, the cruelty and horror that Yahya Khan unleashed on the people of East Pakistan remained in the annals of history as a pogrom. Although, it also led to the birth of a new nation.
Bangladesh and Research and Analysis Wing -
In December 1970, Yahya Khan announced general elections for the national assembly of Pakistan. He, along with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, father of the first woman Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, thought that they would easily win the elections. But they were wrong.
The Awami League, under the leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, won the highest number of seats in the general elections. And the people of West Pakistan, especially Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Yahya Khan, were miffed with the outcome of the results. So, they did what they knew the best. They delayed the meeting of the national assembly. They can't fathom that a Bengali of East Pakistan would become a prime minister and rule over them.
Although riots were already started in East Pakistan because of the colonial attitude of the West Pakistan. As they were not ready to accept the election results.
R. N. Kao, his team members, and the prime minister of India, Indira Feroze Gandhi, were also monitoring the chaos that was going on in East Pakistan. Although, at that time, India couldn't do anything because it was the era of the Cold War. The nations like the United States, China, and the UK were supporting Pakistan. So, India decided to wait and watch.
On 25th March 1971, Operation Searchlight was launched by the army of Pakistan (West Pakistan) against their own people, East Pakistan. Yahya Khan appointed General Tikka Khan for this monstrous act. And the latter committed horrors against the people of East Pakistan that he earned the sobriquet of the 'Butcher of Bengal.'.
Within a span of a few days, the Pakistani Army killed multitudes of people of East Pakistan. Rape, torture, and mutilation of human bodies became the law of the land. In fact, they also arrested Mujibur Rahman, and they sent him to one of the jails of West Pakistan.
Although the Pakistani Army nor their leadership were aware that R&AW under the leadership of Rameshwar Nath Kao had already planned something else for them.
R&AW had cultivated several assets amongst the nationalist Bengalis who were ready to do anything for Mujibur Rahman and the birth of Bangladesh. Some of them remained in East Pakistan, and they used to pass vital information about the activities of the Pakistani Army to their Indian handlers.
In fact, several militias were raised by the R&AW. The most famous amongst all of them was Mukti Bahini. These people were either the former Bengali soldiers of the Pakistani Army who defected to India after the Operation Searchlight or those people who espoused Bengali nationalism.
As the Pakistani Army continued to commit crimes in East Pakistan. India also started preparing for war. Although the then Indian Army Chief, General Sam Manekshaw, told Indira Gandhi very clearly that the armed forces were not ready for war. Attacking the Pakistani army in East Pakistan during the months of June-September, when the monsoon season is at its peak, would be like committing harakiri. They had to wait for the appropriate time.
In fact, Indira Feroze Gandhi knew very well that if India attacked Pakistan, then the whole world would raise a hue and cry. And they will portray India as the aggressor. So, she, along with her team, started touring the capitals of different nations. They told them about the crimes that the Pakistani armed forces were committing in East Pakistan.
In fact, R&AW also started a PR campaign, and they invited journalists of all shades to the camps where the victims of East Pakistan were residing. The world was shocked when they saw the conditions of those Bengalis. This was before the era of social media. But R. N. Kao and his people managed to do this. A feat in itself.
Although the situation in East Pakistan was getting worse day by day. But the guerrilla warfare tactics of the Indian spy agency were also showing their results. The Mukti Bahini, the Mujib Bahini, managed to inflict substantial damage on both the men and the logistics of the Pakistani Army.
In fact, India was also able to infiltrate their agents in the highest echelons of the Pakistani authorities. They got the information that Pakistan will attack India. On December 1, 1971. The whole Indian Army, which became ready to attack as they got the necessary time to prepare, remained on high alert. Although no attack came. They waited for 48 hours, and finally, on December 3, 1971, Pakistan unilaterally attacked India. The plan worked.
In fact, within 13 days the war ended. Pakistan had lost the battle. On 16th December 1971, the Instrument of Surrender was signed by Lt. Gen. A. A. K. Niazi of the Pakistani Army at Ramna Race Course in Dhaka. He surrendered to Lt. Gen. Jagjit Singh Aurora, joint commander of the Bangladesh-India allied forces.
In fact, not only did the Pakistani Army surrender, but India had taken around 93,000 prisoners of war (POWs), including Pakistani soldiers and their collaborators. It was the largest number of POWs taken into custody since World War II.
R&AW, under the visionary leadership of Rameshwar Nath Kao, gained a place in the annals of history, especially in the world of intelligence agencies. They were the architects of a new nation, Bangladesh. A nation for the Bengalis, by the Bengalis, and with the blood and toil of the Indian Army and its secret agents.
Work smart and stay humble.
There are too many differences between a real hero and a reel hero, aren't there? Similarly, a patriot will do whatever it demands for the safety and the integrity of his or her country.
You won't hear from a patriot or a real hero (heroine) that people should put their posters all over the country. Nor do they want an unnecessary paean for them. They just do their work diligently and silently. They work in silence. Sometimes we know their names and sometimes we don't.
When Rameshwar Nath Kao created R&AW, he knew that there were chances that people may or may not remember him or his team members. But the work that they started should continue no matter what. This is the definition of a real hero or a patriot.
It's not only the responsibility of every sane Indian to read about such great people, but it is also necessary to remember the deeds of these great souls, which they did for the welfare of this country, which we proudly say, Bharat Mata (Mother India).
Let me conclude with a bon mot—
The life of a spy is to know and not to be known.
I hope you like this. Thanks for reading. Jai Hind.
May 3, 2021
A very good book, talking about R& AW, they should penetrate into countries like 🇨🇳 for the good of 🇮🇳.
August 12, 2021
অনেকগুলো জানালা খুলে গেলো।
November 6, 2021
To this day I cannot make sense out of India's 1971 operation in Bangladesh. Whether it was terrorism at the state level or genuine yearn for Bangladesh(then East Pakistan). Well, whatever it was it created a new nation. 16 December in Pakistan is known as Sakoote Dhaka ( The fall of Bangldesh), I have read a few books on the causes but this is the first time I am reading an Indian opinion, that too, from military-espionage perspective. The book has paid tribute to the Kao-Boys, R.N.Kao deserves credit for breaking Pakistan into two peices. The Pakistan armed fought poorly due to their low morale and delusional military cum political objective of subdueing Awaami League.
One question that struck me the most is that could this war be avoided by handing over the power to Shiekh Mujeeb. And the other one is, has the outcome of the war changed India-Pakistan relations. My personal opinion is that the relations have worsened, the Indian establishment did beat Pakistan army in Bangladesh but it has failed to cow it down in the western theater. Moreover, it has gone nuclear and gradually it will, one day have enough nukes to obliterate India. So the question is, how to have perpetual peace. Perpetual war will result in armageddon.
Lastly, it is a good read. I am looking forward to read some work/research on India's preparation to counter China
One question that struck me the most is that could this war be avoided by handing over the power to Shiekh Mujeeb. And the other one is, has the outcome of the war changed India-Pakistan relations. My personal opinion is that the relations have worsened, the Indian establishment did beat Pakistan army in Bangladesh but it has failed to cow it down in the western theater. Moreover, it has gone nuclear and gradually it will, one day have enough nukes to obliterate India. So the question is, how to have perpetual peace. Perpetual war will result in armageddon.
Lastly, it is a good read. I am looking forward to read some work/research on India's preparation to counter China
September 29, 2024
This is a good account of the early days of India's R&AW and its pivotal role in the Bangladesh War of Liberation. RN Kao is the key protagonist, but the book does well to focus on the story of R&AW and the 1971 war, rather than become a hagiography of Kao. For those uninitiated in India's military history, the book includes details of some very interesting subplots that turned the war decisively in India's favour - on both the western and eastern fronts. The writing is lucid, perhaps a little too much in some places. It also occasionally suffers from deferring too much to the official Indian position on the war, and not enough on how it was perceived globally, particularly the unofficial behind-the-scenes negotiations that led to the culmination of the war. Though mildly disappointing, that is perhaps not surprising, because the book is more about R&AW and less a comprehensive account of the war. At 235 pages and a large enough font, it would make for a gripping weekend or a short-flight read.
May 19, 2021
The War That Made R&AW ~ Anushka Nandakumar and Sandeep Saket
This non-fiction book on Indian espionage is writers' maiden attempt and they have done every justice to make it a simple, easy yet a thrilling read. Before this book, I knew nothing about the authors and now I am intrigued to see their projects contributed in the Indian film industry.
The book talks about R.N. Kao - Ramaji & his Kaoboys, their intelligent and smart way to outlive enemy intentions. You'll relive the tales of 1971 war, what shown in the movie 'Border' and 'Ghazi Attack' and the preparations/strategies that went to liberate Bangladesh.
This is the first book where even the links in Bibliography interests me with equal curiosity.
I recommend you reading this quick one. It will fill you knowledge with unexpected ways of espionage realm!
This non-fiction book on Indian espionage is writers' maiden attempt and they have done every justice to make it a simple, easy yet a thrilling read. Before this book, I knew nothing about the authors and now I am intrigued to see their projects contributed in the Indian film industry.
The book talks about R.N. Kao - Ramaji & his Kaoboys, their intelligent and smart way to outlive enemy intentions. You'll relive the tales of 1971 war, what shown in the movie 'Border' and 'Ghazi Attack' and the preparations/strategies that went to liberate Bangladesh.
This is the first book where even the links in Bibliography interests me with equal curiosity.
I recommend you reading this quick one. It will fill you knowledge with unexpected ways of espionage realm!
May 17, 2023
The book is a good insight to the rather unnoticed events that unfolded around 1971.
It felt a bit of one sided hero story, where everything went so smoothly. I think that was the sole purpose of the book, but I was expecting a bit of downsides as well. But that would have added to more melodrama and might have diverted from the true nature of what it wants to bring to the audience! Throughout the book, there was not a single incident of me sitting on the edge of my chair though. But that might be the intentional writing style.
While countering myself, I believe that the book is a one time read. The choice of words and sentences are good. The writing style is quite good, given that it is the first book of authors.
It felt a bit of one sided hero story, where everything went so smoothly. I think that was the sole purpose of the book, but I was expecting a bit of downsides as well. But that would have added to more melodrama and might have diverted from the true nature of what it wants to bring to the audience! Throughout the book, there was not a single incident of me sitting on the edge of my chair though. But that might be the intentional writing style.
While countering myself, I believe that the book is a one time read. The choice of words and sentences are good. The writing style is quite good, given that it is the first book of authors.
August 16, 2021
Before reading this book, didn’t know how R&AW came into existence and it’s pivotal role in the 1971 Indo-Pak war. It was R&AW that made it possible for Indira Gandhi to decimate Pakistan at every front, liberate East Pakistan, bringing Mujibur Rehman from the brink of an imminent murder conspiracy in Pak jail. Though I would love to know more about the covert operations of R&AW to gain understanding of its formidable functioning and the thought process behind their secret missions. It was no less than an espionage thriller for me.
June 11, 2024
Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) - what a masterstroke!
This book brought to light R&AW’s perspective, efforts and successful intelligence gaining capabilities during the 1971 war.
Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister of India and it was during her reign, East Pakistan was fighting for its freedom to become Bangladesh. R N Kao founded R&AW along with other agents (who aptly were called ‘Kaoboys’) to help Indian army who in turn helped Bangladesh gain its freedom.
If you enjoy spy movies, I am sure you would love this book. Historical, gripping and true!
This book brought to light R&AW’s perspective, efforts and successful intelligence gaining capabilities during the 1971 war.
Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister of India and it was during her reign, East Pakistan was fighting for its freedom to become Bangladesh. R N Kao founded R&AW along with other agents (who aptly were called ‘Kaoboys’) to help Indian army who in turn helped Bangladesh gain its freedom.
If you enjoy spy movies, I am sure you would love this book. Historical, gripping and true!
December 23, 2021
A good read overall as it was my first book after a long time. You'd love to read the story parts of which have been kept in a reverse sequence many a time. You will get a good idea of how the events unfolded and what was the role of R&AW in that.
I felt it was quite a generalised and observational story rather a very detailed one. You'll finish the book in no time as it keeps you gripped. Cheers!
I felt it was quite a generalised and observational story rather a very detailed one. You'll finish the book in no time as it keeps you gripped. Cheers!
May 17, 2021
The war that made RAW
A balanced analysis of the events which led to formation of Bangladesh. History is not taught in most national curriculums or is presented conveniently what suits the government in power. Indian history by Indians without aspiring for approval from Western academics is a welcome change. Fully recommend this book.
A balanced analysis of the events which led to formation of Bangladesh. History is not taught in most national curriculums or is presented conveniently what suits the government in power. Indian history by Indians without aspiring for approval from Western academics is a welcome change. Fully recommend this book.
June 15, 2021
A riveting read. This book based on real events feels just out of fictional world concocted by greats like Frederick Forsyth or Alistair MacLean. The style of narration that authors adopt also makes it more interactive and readable. A book which is invigorating to read and which makes us proud of our country's institutions.
October 13, 2021
A captivating book, although many events are on surface level and you wish you got details of it..it keeps you engaged. There is an anecdote at the end of every chapter about the sequence of events that keeps you into the book. When you are finished you get some ideas of how it is to help create a new nation.
A good one.
A good one.
October 29, 2021
A definite page turner with the fast paced action oriented story telling. A bird's eye view of the formation of the state of Bangladesh from the lens of Indian polity and intelligence. Given the stories of intelligence agencies find it hard to establish the amount of truth beyond a point, for not all truths are told truly and not all lies as lies in the world of espionage.
October 29, 2021
Poorly written and unnecessary use of difficult uncommon words has made it a tough read for them who are not much fluent in English... Although I'm a student of English literature it is also an annoying read for me due to the usage of such words. Other than that the story is based on reality and as a curious Indian had a good time reading it.
April 28, 2023
This book is for children. It is written in that way. Never did I feel I'm reading a very well-researched work meant for mature audience. It flows like a story. If you're picking this book hoping to know something deeply about R&AW or about RN Kao, you'll be disappointed. Gift this book to high-schoolers, they'll enjoy this and maybe start reading more.
August 5, 2024
Nice in getting to know about the way Indian government with the assistance of R&AW in liberating Bangladesh. Getting to know about the man behind the formation is good but it is mostly about the 71 war rather than RAW could have been more interesting to know more about organisation than the war. Nice read a gripping tale.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 24, 2021
The book is a gripping description of the birth of Indian Intelligence and how in a world where wars usually fought with power can be won with the power of Information. It is hard to let the book down once one gets in the thick of the story.
March 10, 2022
Focused on 1971 Bangladesh war, this book shows the role of R.N. Kao and his team in the freedom struggle. The writing style is fluid and story is well paced. I finished this in 2 days over 2 sittings. Easy read but important to know the genesis of our own intelligence agency, RAW.
November 1, 2022
While the book narrates everything (yet to corroborated) related to formation of Bangladesh and subsequently R&AW, the writing style is too immature. Hence doesn't make it an interesting read, more like Bollywood movie script
May 4, 2025
Slightly politically biased but gives a riveting account of the events that enfold and an educating description of the sophistication and prowess of RAW, Indian Armed Forces and the Indian Government at large. The narrative is engaging.
July 14, 2025
Very well written document on how the R&AW was formed, and reached its peak during the Bangladesh liberation. A very detailed account of how RN Kai worked alongside the establishment to build the R&AW. Also goes into some depth of the mind of Kao and the “Kao Boys”
June 19, 2021
One of the best books
July 11, 2021
'Knowledge is power' is true. It was a great learning for India from 1962 Indo-China war that without Intelligence support we can not win a war.
August 11, 2021
Great book, reads like a TV series. It could have been more detailed about some of political decisions that were pulled off by Kao and team but I still could follow it like a thriller
August 17, 2021
Although it has scratched the surface of R&AW but kudos to the writer to give us a simpler explaination of event occurred at that time.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews