Of spy stories & covert operations of RAW

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, July 2

Writers Anushka Nandkumar and Sandeep Saket talked about their book, ‘The War that Made RAW’ with journalist Kaveree Bamzai in a web session hosted by Majha House today. The two talked about the conception of the book that explores the possibility of 1962 and 1971 wars in establishing India’s elite intelligence agency.

Introducing the book, Preeti Gill, founder, Majha House said, “It is the most unusual book in terms that it is the first book that exhaustively talks about the intelligence agency that is now integral to the safety of our country. It also honours the brilliant minds that remain behind the scene even as they map out surveillance strategies for the country.”

Talking about the 1962 and 1965 wars with China and Pakistan, the writers shared that India lost one and won the other by a very short margin. “It was after this that the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi segregated the Intelligence Bureau into two distinct units, one for internal intelligence and the other for external intelligence, which was put under the guidance of Mr Kao who was the intelligence officer for Indira Gandhi. His team was also humorously referred to as the ‘Kaoboys’,” said Sandeep Saket.

“RAW was formed in 1968 and the war with Bangladesh ended in 1971. It occurred to us that the two events were related. We started gathering stories and slowly built up the narrative but it was only at the behest of our friend that we started thinking of the material as a book. Our background in cinema helped us to visualise the narrative so we could make it more compelling and readable,” said Anushka Nandkumar.

They also said although the incidents in the book are real, they had to step in as writers to build up dialogue between different characters Leaders like Indira Gandhi, Zulfiqar Bhutto, General Yahya Khan, Rameshwar Nath Kao, P N Banerjee were all important in those years, and they feature prominently in the book which makes it all the more realistic and interesting.

‘Operation HAT, a joint covert operation by the US’ CIA and RAW, the foiling of infamous airplane highjack where the hijackers were honored by the Pakistani government, and many other such incidents have been mentioned that makes it no less than a thriller.

“Covert international espionage has always been an interesting topic. People are always interested in knowing how things function behind the scenes; they want to know how information and intelligence is gathered; how spies are stationed in different countries; how they act, what challenges they face are all subjects of fascination for everyone. Mainstream films and OTT series have brought the life of spies right into our own lives. We are hoping that our book, a labour of love, will also receive the same amount of love and appreciation,” the writers concluded in a lighter tone.

How the idea of book was conceived

Introducing the book, Preeti Gill, founder, Majha House said, “It is the most unusual book in terms that it is the first book that exhaustively talks about the intelligence agency that is now integral to the safety of our country. It also honours the brilliant minds that remain behind the scene even as they map out surveillance strategies for the country.” The writer Anushka Nandkumar said, “RAW was formed in 1968 and the war with Bangladesh ended in 1971. It occurred to us that the two events were related. We started gathering stories and slowly built up the narrative but it was only at the behest of our friend that we started thinking of the material as a book.”