Title: The Indian Spy: The true story of the most remarkable secret agent of World War II
Author: Mihir Bose
Genre: Non-Fiction, History, Biography
Published: 2017
BookMarks
‘The Man called Silver’
Hats off to a man who deceived everybody and survived the War without being hanged
This is the story of Bhagat Ram Talwar a.k.a. Silver, a Hindu Pathan, who managed to spy for multiple countries during the Second World War with his primary operations center being Kabul.
Bhagat Ram Talwar, helped Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose in escaping from India to Germany, with the help of the Italian & German embassies in Kabul. However, a communist, once Germany attacked Soviet Union, he switched over to the Russians and later on to Russia's allies, the British. Somewhere down the line he was also working with the Japanese – thus becoming a quintuple agent.
This work is primarily based on Mr. Talwar’s autobiography, with additional information from the declassified archives of the period. The book narrates quite an interesting picture of Silver and his associates, and how they went about their business of spying & double-crossing, forging new connections and switching allegiances.
Overall, quite an interesting read. Although the tale does meander around a bit and the reader may get confused in some of the characters and the multiple visits to Kabul. Given that the book’s primary source is Mr. Talwar’s autobiography, this is the picture he wanted to be presented to the world.
The book also provides an interesting perspective on Netaji and his actions during the World War II. The lens with which one judges who can be a potential ally is quite varied. And most importantly perspective changes with time and new re-alignments. Its not always a case of black and white. Instead there are many shades of grey here.
A line which stood out - ‘It is impossible, or at any rate, highly dangerous, to tell a lie until you know what the truth is going to be.’
Previously on BookMarks: How the World Really Works
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