Rameshwar Nath Kao
(1918-2002)
Sunil
Sainis
 Rarely in the
intelligence world, individuals arise around whom entire institutions are built and whose
personality leaves indelible marks on the community as whole. Espionage carries grave
personal risks and enormous responsibility. Matters are complicated further by the
pervasive cloak of secrecy that covers all accounts of activity and the professional's
view of affairs seldom meets the public eye. The result is a `larger-than-life' aura that
collects around the top echelons. Due to this aura, they are attributed superhuman
qualities and their failures projected in biblical terms. It becomes very hard to break
through this aura. One is reduced to carefully collecting snippets from various media
sources to get even the smallest picture of the human being behind the image. Such is the
case of Shri Rameshwar Nath Kao.
Kao was
born in the city of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh on May 10 1918. Being from a reasonably
well-settled Kashmiri Brahmin family in the region he was most likely encouraged to pursue
education and in 1938 he finished his BA at Lucknow University. He chose to pursue a
Masters in English Literature at Allahabad University. It appears He stayed at the Amar
Nath Jha hostel. It is unclear who his companions were in these days, but given Amar Nath
Jha hostel's stellar list of alumni, it is possible that Kao at least met some of the most
important bureaucrats of modern India during his stay there. He completed his MA sometime
in 1940.
Little is known about the next few years of his
life, but accounts indicate by 1940-1941 he had joined the Imperial Police, and was
commissioned in the Uttar Pradesh Cadre. By 1941 he was at the Police Training College in
Moradabad where he found it difficult to get along with his fellow British officers. On
June 3, 1947 he was deputed to Central Intelligence Bureau. At the time the Central
Intelligence Bureau had a considerably large number of Muslim and British officers. The
British officers left after Independence, and the tragic events of the Partition resulted
in a split along religious lines as well. Consequently there were a lot of empty desks in
the Bureau at this time. Kao was chosen by Shri Jawaharlal Nehru to be in charge of VIP
security. He proved himself to be more than equal to the task, and when HE Queen Elizabeth
visited Independent India for the first time in 1951 Kao was tasked with her security as
well. During this time Kao was in close personal contact with Nehru and accompanied him on
several foreign trips. This experience of foreign travel and interaction with the
intelligence agencies of other nations must have been very valuable to Kao.
The 50s were the
days when the `Afro-Asian Unity’ was a big theme in Indian foreign policy. Other
nations like the Peoples Republic of China were constantly jockeying with India to seize
leadership of the `third world'. The centerpiece of this `Unity' was the Bandung
Conference of April 1955. The Chinese Premier Zhou En Lai was to travel to the conference
on a chartered Air India airplane called the `Kashmir Princess'. Under strange
circumstances Premier Zhou cancelled his trip and somewhere over Natuna Islands a bomb
exploded resulting in a horrific air crash. There were no survivors from the `Kashmir
Princess' and the political sensitivity of the matter gave rise to all sorts of conspiracy
theories. Kao was deputed by Nehru to investigate the crash. This investigation earned Kao
a personal letter of commendation from Premier Zhou En Lai.
Nehru in 1960
asked Kao and his deputy Shri Sankaran Nair to help the Govt. of the legendary Kwame
Nkrumah set up the intelligence service of Ghana. This was a particularly difficult task
as resources were even more scarce in Ghana then they were in India, but yet again Kao was
successful in his task. His success in Ghana however paled in insignificance in the light
of the Chinese invasion of 1962. This terrible failure to predict Chinese intentions in
the Northeast and Aksai Chin had shaken confidence of many in the Intelligence
establishment. Nehru’s political stock also took a deep dive. To arrest the trend
Nehru overcame his distaste for American activities in places like Kalimpong and expanded
cooperation with the United States. The newly established Aviation Research Centre under
the DG (Security) of the Intelligence Bureau (and situated at Charbatia in Orissa) was at
the center of this cooperation. Kao was chosen in 1963 to be it's first director. It is
here that Kao solidly laid the foundations of TECHINT collection in modern India.
The period from
1963 to 1968 was a period of intense flux in the Indian intelligence community. Knives
aimed at `Pitamaha' B.N. Mullick (Director IB in 1962) had quickly found their mark. The
difficulties encountered in predicting the exact shape of the Pakistani Dictator, Field
Marshal Ayub’s, aggressive intentions in 1965 had increased the pressure for dramatic
change. By 1966-67 R.N Kao (as deputy director) along with K. Sankaran Nair came up with a
blueprint for the formation of a new intelligence agency dedicated to the serving the need
for external intelligence. This move recieved immense support from PM
Smt. Indira Gandhi and on
Sept 21, 1968 the `Research and Analysis Wing' was formed (the name was chosen by then
Cabinet Secretary Shri D.S.Joshi ). Kao along with 250 of his chosen colleagues from the
China and Pakistan desks, and the DG (Security) of the IB were transferred to this new
agency. Here Kao as the first Director R&AW began the task of building a competent and
aggressive foreign intelligence agency.
By 1968 Pakistani
mishandling of political affairs in East Pakistan reached a critical point and
secessionist tendencies gained strength. Though he has just barely taken over, Kao
initiated operations to exploit these changes. This so called `Phase One' set in motion
events that concluded in the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971. The success in Bangladesh
earned Kao a promotion to the rank of full secretary, from this point he was officially
known as `Secretary (R)'. By 1973-4 the `(R)' under his leadership was fully involved in
preparations for the Buddha Poornima festivities. The R&AW soon reoriented in early
1975 to work out the integration of Sikkim. On April 26 1975, after the Chogyal Dynasty
was eased out of power, Sikkim became the 22nd state of Union of India.
By this time the
domestic political environment of the country was in a state of
intense flux. Smt. Gandhi in a
tragically poor political judgment call pushed for the declaration of an `Emergency'. This
plan was presented to a meeting of the top bureaucrats, and the Director IB dissented.
This resulted in his being removed from service, and Kao was catapulted to the top of the
intelligence chain.
The subcontinent
is a restless place and by May-June 1975 `(R)'s agents in Bangladesh
found evidence of a
coup. Kao flew to Dhaka under deep cover to warn Sheikh
Mujib ur Rehman of the threat to
his life. Kao provided him with the names of the officers involved, but tragically
Sheikh
Mujib ignored his warnings and was killed a few weeks later in August along with 40
members of his family. Some accounts indicate that this stunning murder pushed `(R)' into
a battle of proxies against the intelligence service of another large Asian country and
soon coups and counter coups followed. However Indian initiatives in this were weakened by
internal political instability. The `Emergency' had failed to contain Smt. Gandhi's
political troubles and Kao repeatedly asked to be relieved but was instructed to continue. Political pressures mounted on Smt Gandhi and she
was forced to resign.
The Janata Party
government was elected to power in her place and it had very different geopolitical views.
The new Prime Minister Shri Morarji Desai was very suspicious of the role that `(R)' has
played in events. This mistrust made it difficult for Kao to function effectively in his
capacity as Secretary(R). So in Jan 1977 Kao retired from service after the Morarji Desai
Govt. ordered a high level inquiry of his past. The
inquiry returned impeccable credentials and Shri Charan Singh, then home minister admitted
that Kao’s conduct was very professional. However
Kao's departure was not enough to save the R&AW from the wrath of Moraji Desai. In a
meeting with Sankaran Nair and late N. F. Santook, Morarji Desai ordered massive
cuts to the agency's budget and operations. Dark days were upon the agency but the
foresight and skill of Kao and Nair enabled the agency to function, slowly shifting
operations to another complex while `winding down' the old one as per the Prime
Minister’s orders.
By late 1979 Smt. Gandhi was able to regain political favor with the people, and was re-elected to power.
This marked an upturn in Kao's career, and the period 1980-1984 saw him serving as
`Security Advisor to the Cabinet'. During his tenure as the first National Security
Advisor, He ensured that the proposal to form the Special Protection Group received the
attention it deserved. He worked towards laying the groundwork for
Smt. Gandhi's US visit.
Under his watchful eye the foundations of the Sri Lanka intervention were laid. His
support enabled the R&AW to complete a process of internal reorganization first
started in late 1976. This process eventually resulted in the establishment of the
Research Analysis Service (RAS).
Also at this
time, the R&AW began working on internal security issues to counterbalance
Pakistan’s moves to exploit the Punjab Troubles. Some accounts suggest he tried to
dissuade Smt Indira Gandhi from sending the army into the Golden Temple Complex, and other
accounts speak of efforts by him and G.C. Saxena to secure British assistance to train a
special unit using models of the complex at Chakrata. Kao also attempted to push through
Indo-Chinese talks with direct discussions with Qaio Shi (Coordinator of Chinese
Intelligence) but returned when he heard that Mrs Gandhi had been killed.
The death of Smt
Gandhi set in motion the meteoric rise of her eldest son, Shri Rajiv Gandhi to the post of
Prime Minister. Kao in 1984-85 helped Rajiv Gandhi with the transition into power. However
Rajiv wanted to bring about a visible change in government, and soon all the members of
the old guard (political and administrative) were given subtle hints to leave. Like
several others of his time Kao quietly bowed out. He spent the rest of life in his home in
Vasant Vihar, where he developed his hobbies of iron sculpting, raising horses, and
collecting Gandhara paintings. Aging gracefully in the same shy sharp silence that marked
his public service, Kao departed into the next world on the early morning of Jan 20, 2002.
He is survived by his wife Smt Malini Kao, and daughter Smt. Achla Kaul.
Most of the
details of Kao's life will remain secret for the better part of the next century. However
it is no secret that Kao made immeasurable contributions to the security of India. His
invaluable service in various capacities in the Indian intelligence establishment led to
great improvements in its functioning. Notwithstanding all criticisms regarding his
political impact, it is through the untiring efforts of Kao that the foundations of modern
intelligence handling in India were laid and a generation of intelligence professionals
were trained.
To quote the
words of the HE President K.R. Narayanan:"Shri Kao will be long remembered for his
distinguished service to the nation."
Bharat Rakshak
takes this moment to salute one of the greatest strategic minds that India has produced,
and also to mark the silent sacrifices of several unnamed others in the intelligence
community. Photo courtesy: Hindustantimes.com |
