James Bond, Jason Bourne, Ethan Hunt. These are quite possibly some of the names among other fictional characters that come to mind when you think of ‘Espionage’ or ‘secret intelligence’. And for good reason. These fictional narratives have, for years, built a vision of a spies in our minds. Loyalists who live life on-the-edge through the thrills of fast paced storylines, doing car chases, jumping off rooftops, and more. Then you have pieces like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Red Sparrow that many believe more accurately depict a spy’s life, the good, the bad, and the complicated, in great detail. And of course, you have films like Madras Café and Argo. On-screen experiences inspired by true events. And as entertaining as they can be, not many, if any at all, come to show how the secret intelligence organizations actually come into existence. How did an agency that is integral to the safety of 1.3 billion lives actually come into existence? That is what ‘The War that made R&AW’ explores.
The War that made R&AW
Nothing good ever comes out of violence.
Martin Luther
While I won’t argue with the sentiment or the logic of the phrase, this is a story that starts off with the result of a war. Or two for that matter. Wars that despite their results brought to light India’s alarming lack of information gathering ability. What followed was months and years of effort by some of the best intelligence officers in India at the time. The end game? A foreign intelligence agency that could not only collect critical information, but deploy its network across the world, form alliances, analyse global events, and how they all affected India. In other words, the beginning of the Research and Analysis Wing, aka R&AW.
The War that started R&AW focusses on the aspects that you wouldn’t normally see in a two-hour action-packed spy film. This isn’t a book about glamour. But the toil behind-the-scenes. It isn’t a book about the action. But the brains that went unnoticed behind the action. This is a book that celebrates the men who worked in the shadows to set the foundation of an intelligence agency that redefined how India was viewed in the global intelligence community.
Safeguarding India from the known, and the unknown
What stands out in this book, in addition to the details of the formation of R&AW, is its role in global events. Events that would impact the country in the long run. The insights that the team had and the steps it would take for the country’s benefit for decades to come. For instance, the story of the its role in Bangladesh’s fight for freedom. A story that is not only absorbing to the reader, but also revealing on so many levels. Primarily about the vision and judgment of the unsung men who worked from the shadows. Or the incidents leading up to a joint operation between R&AW and the CIA to prevent an attempted airplane hijack. A story that is almost a script for a thriller by itself. And at the heart of this thriller, and many others, was a man who is perhaps a legend it his own right. Rameshwar Nath Kao.
The Kaoboys
An understandably hidden name for the larger part of his life, Rameshwar Nath Kao led the organization to new heights of recognition and success. with a team of trusted confidants, who would eventually be known as the ‘Kaoboys’. Quickly making R&AW a reliable name in intelligence circles around the world. One who’s importance to the country cannot be understated. And one who’s heroics through the 1970s and 1980s may never be fully appreciated.
In addition to prominent names like Indira Gandhi, Zulfiqar Bhutto, General Yahya Khan forming part of the dialogue, the story narrated is largely about the Kaoboys. And the book is a testament to their minds, their courage, and their efforts that kicked off the future of surveillance and intelligence strategies for the country. All from the shadows.
What works, and also doesn’t
This book is not just a narrative of the events leading to the formation of the organization. But it is a dramatization of the entire story. Written by film makers Anusha Nandakumar and Sandeep Saket, it includes large parts where the authors have presented conversations between individuals from the agency right up to highest levels of the Indian government authority.
In a way, they authors have through their research with an almost script-like style of writing. All combined with their background in film make this an exciting, yet easy read. One that has grips you right from the word go to. What some might argue however, is that by doing this, the book in a way oversimplifies what was a very intense period of Indian history. But that is a matter of perspective one would say.
A journey into the shadows
The War that started R&AW is a book about courage, intelligence, and integrity. But it’s also so much more. It is a story of possibly one of the most delicate periods of an independent India. It is a story of battles that were fought and won by brains as much as anything else by India’s first intelligence agency.
The names Rameshwar Nath Kao, K. Sankaran Nair, P.N. Banerjee, and the rest of the Kaoboys have for long remained in the shadows. And The War that started R&AW does a great job in celebrating their unsung heroics that were, like their lives, achieved in the shadows.
