Welcome to MakeLives investigation. Today we are representing the story of courageous Indian spy Ravinder Kaushik. He was born in Sriganganagar, a border village in Rajasthan. While in college, his interest in plays and dramas started to take growth. He was approached by the RAW officer to join RAW when he was playing a small act in college.

After extensive training in Delhi, RAW offered him a job as an undercover agent in Pakistan. Kaushik was taught Urdu and introduced to the topography of Pakistan. With a new name(Nabi Ahmed Shakir), he entered Pakistan in 1975 with a mission at hand. After completing his LLB from Karachi University, he joined the Pakistani Army. He became an auditor in the Military Accounts Department. Later, he became a Major and married a girl named Amanat.

He conveyed valuable information to RAW from 1979 to 1983. He also visited India 3 to 4 times during his holding as an undercover agent in Pakistan. The secret information he provided helped India in many ways. The confidential information also included the strategies planned by Pakistan during the war against India. He was given the title 'Black Tiger' by India's then home minister S.B. Chavan. Some people hypothesise that the title was given by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Inayat Mahisa, another agent, was sent to Pakistan to get in touch with him. Unfortunately, he was seized and revealed the true identity of Ravinder Kaushik. Kaushik was questioned and tortured for two years. He was given the death penalty for spying which was later reduced to life imprisonment. After spending 18 years of his life in jail, Ravinder Kaushik died of TB and Heart disease.

He secretly wrote several letters to his father from jail. In one such letter, he wrote- "Had I been an American, I would have been out of this jail in three days". He is a true forgotten hero of India who served his country till his last breath.

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