Ravindra Kaushik — The Black Tiger Who Roared in Silence
He was the Black Tiger. And though his voice was silenced behind bars, his legacy roars louder than ever.
In the shadows of espionage where legends are born but rarely named, one man gave his youth, his identity, and ultimately his life for the country he could never openly serve. His name was Ravindra Kaushik, India’s most daring and celebrated spy, known in intelligence circles as “The Black Tiger.”
Born in 1952 in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan, Kaushik was an ordinary boy with extraordinary spirit. His early love for theatre and public speaking would become the unusual gateway to one of the most dangerous lives ever lived in service of India. It was during a dramatic mono-act performance at a college event portraying an Indian soldier defying enemy torture that Kaushik caught the eye of RAW scouts. What they saw was potential charisma, confidence, and courage the makings of a spy.
In 1973, at the age of 21, Ravindra Kaushik was recruited into RAW. Over the next two years, he was trained rigorously in espionage techniques, stealth, and survival. He was taught Urdu, Islam, Pakistani customs, and history. His Hindu identity was erased and he became “Nabi Ahmed Shakir,” a Pakistani national born in Islamabad.
In 1975, Kaushik crossed into Pakistan under this false identity. He enrolled in Karachi University, completed his LLB, and subsequently joined the Pakistan Army, eventually rising to the rank of Major in the Military Accounts Department. For years, Kaushik served within the core of the Pakistani defense system while secretly feeding crucial information back to India.
Between 1979 and 1983, his intel helped Indian defense strategists in invaluable ways including military positions, operations, and strategic planning. He risked everything with every message he sent. India had a man sitting inside its rival’s army something intelligence agencies can only dream of.
But espionage, like war, is cruel and unforgiving.
In 1983, a RAW operative named Inyat Masih, sent into Pakistan to establish contact with Kaushik, was captured. Under torture, Masih revealed Kaushik’s identity. The fallout was immediate and brutal. Kaushik was arrested by Pakistani intelligence and subjected to intense torture. After a closed military trial, he was sentenced to death later commuted to life imprisonment.
For the next 16 years, Ravindra Kaushik endured unimaginable conditions in Pakistani prisons Sialkot, Kot Lakhpat, and finally Mianwali Jail. He battled loneliness, disease, and despair. In a smuggled letter to his family, he wrote:
“Had I been an American, I would have been out of this jail in three days.”
Ravindra Kaushik passed away in November 2001 in Central Jail Mianwali, Pakistan. He died of pulmonary tuberculosis and heart disease after years of suffering in silence. No military funeral, no official tribute. Just a grieving family in Rajasthan and a haunting absence in the records of recognition.
The Indian government has yet to officially acknowledge his role. His family continues to fight for justice and honor for a man who gave everything to serve his nation silently and selflessly.
Ravindra Kaushik was more than a spy — he was a man who dissolved his very identity for the country he loved. He gave up his name, his faith, his family, and his freedom and never asked for anything in return.
He was the Black Tiger. And though his voice was silenced behind bars, his legacy roars louder than ever.
The article is authored by Sanjana Singh, a student of St. George's College and interning with Deccan Chronicle