As THE SPY EXTRAORDINAIRE he was operating at the highest levels of international espionage, deceiving, supplying misinformation, disinformation and swindling the Axis of nearly £2.5 million, and manipulating intelligence flows across four empires. He outsmarted the Whites of that time all
He was a small-built man—an unimpressive, ordinary figure who could easily be lost in a crowd, unnoticed in a bustling market or along a dusty road. No one would have paid him any attention, let alone remembered him. He spoke no English—perhaps a few broken words—but not enough to hold a conversation. In fact, apart from his mother tongue, Pashto, he could only speak Urdu and Punjabi.
And yet, this short man stood apart—the ‘tallest’ in the secret world of shadows—for two remarkable reasons.
First, he was the only “Quintuple spy” the world has ever known. He simultaneously spied for Russia, Britain, Italy, Germany, and Japan, weaving a complex web of lies, half-truths, and cleverly doctored intelligence to suit his purposes. His reward? Millions of rupees—during the time of World War II—all without ever being caught or even suspected.
The second reason: He was the man known as Rahamat Khan, who, in February 1941, escorted a certain Mohammed Ziauddin, ‘an insurance inspector’, across the perilous mountains and treacherous passes of Afghanistan to his destination—the Italian Embassy in Kabul.
That small, unremarkable man was, as you’ve probably guessed by now, Bhagat Ram Talwar.
And Mohammed Ziauddin? He was none other than Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
While Bhagat Ram Talwar’s role as Rahamat Khan in facilitating Netaji’s escape is somewhat known, his extraordinary shadowy life as a master spy remained hidden—until celebrated writer Mihir Bose unearthed it in his meticulously researched book, The Indian Spy. The True Story of the Most Remarkable Secret Agent of World War II.
Talwar’s was an extraordinary journey. It was the Italians, more precisely the Italian ambassador to Kabul, Pietro Quaroni, who first introduced him to espionage. On February 22, 1941, at Talwar’s initiative and support, Netaji met Quaroni and adopted the Italian alias “Orlando Mazzotta”, carrying a passport numbered 647932, issued on March 10, 1941. The famous photograph of Netaji as Mazzotta, sporting a light beard, was taken that day by Quaroni’s wife at Uttam Chand’s studio in Kabul.
After Netaji left Kabul—spending nearly 45 days there—and travelled via Central Asia and Russia (crossing the Hindu Kush, exiting at the Oxus River, reaching Samarkand, and then Moscow before flying to Berlin in early April 1941), Bhagat Ram Talwar plunged deeper into the world of espionage.
Though at heart a Communist and a member of the Kirti Kisan Party, Talwar began working for the Italians, and then for the Russians. His NKVD handler was Gaik Badalovich Ovakimyan, a senior Soviet intelligence officer.
It is unclear exactly when Talwar became a Soviet asset, but leveraging his Italian connections especially Pietro Quaroni, he infiltrated the Nazi intelligence service Abwehr, specifically its Second Section, commanded by Colonel Erwin von Lahousen. His German handler was Abwehr Station Chief Dieter Witzel, but in reality, Talwar was continuously feeding doctored or misleading intelligence to the Nazis.
As the Allies and Axis powers realigned, the world of intelligence evolved too. The Soviets eventually asked Talwar to offer his services to the British, which he did—becoming an asset of British intelligence’s Moscow liaison chief, George Hill.
The Nazis sought to use Talwar ( not knowing at all that they were using a double agent at that time) to incite rebellion against British rule in Afghanistan and the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), exploiting his deep knowledge of the region and its tribal politics. Their hope was to ignite an uprising led by the Faqir of Ipi, a prominent tribal leader. To that end, Abwehr gave Talwar: 50 pistols, 2 wireless sets, 800 gold sovereigns, £14,625 in British currency, taken from the German Embassy safe in Kabul.
These resources were intended to arm and fund the tribal revolt. But Talwar -then already working for the Russians- had his own plans. He handed the pistols and wireless sets to the NKVD, and at least one wireless set eventually reached British MI6. It’s also believed he may have kept part of the money for himself. The pistols, according to some accounts, were meant for assassination attempts in British India.
In 1943, a charismatic British MI6 officer took over Talwar’s operations: Peter Fleming, the Eton- and Oxford-educated brother of Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond.
Peter Fleming gave Talwar his famous codename: “SILVER.”
From that point onward, Silver entered the pantheon of legendary WWII spies, on par with Juan Pujol García, Richard Sorge, and Elyesa Bazna (Cicero).
Talwar had multiple codenames: For the British: Silver, or the Russians: Rom, for the Germans: RK
Operating out of Delhi, Peter Fleming began using the very Nazi wireless sets intended for Faqir of Ipi to transmit false and misleading intelligence back to the Germans—and through them, to the Japanese. Though the full extent of Talwar’s involvement with Japanese intelligence is unclear, it is believed he worked indirectly, using the Nazi network as a conduit.
It is both astonishing and ironic that throughout World War II, while this seemingly insignificant man—Bhagat Ram Talwar, alias Silver/Rom/RK—was deceiving every side, the Axis powers never suspected him. Despite using their own funds, their own weapons, and their own communication devices, Talwar remained above suspicion. So impressed were the Nazis with his “service” to the Reich that they even awarded him the Iron Cross, Germany’s highest military honor.
How cool was the man- Bhagat Ram alias Silver or how he could escape capture or how he could kill a man – a common attribute to a spy? Well, there is a story about him. Once his British handler Col Peter Fleming warned him that while he was making trips to Afghanistan, there was a man who could blow up his identity. Later, Talwar a ka Silver reported to Col Fleming that : He had befriended the man and invited him for dinner in Kabul. He later described to Fleming that he has served a curry mixed with tiger’s whiskers, the sharp bristles of which cause internal bleeding. “It was the last meal he ever ate”. A very queer or weird way for eliminating a suspect—using tiger whiskers. But then everything was possible those times, especially when you are talking about wild, wild Afghanistan and NW Province and man filled with deceit ad desperation..
Talwar, a mere matriculate from a remote village in the North-West Frontier Province with a population of barely a thousand could outwit the most elite, educated, and sophisticated Western intelligence officers for years. He was, in truth, more than their equal. He moved with them , discussed with them world affairs , world war matters and strategies and then deceived them with, should we say extraordinary ‘elan’ ?
Michael Howard, one of the most famous British historians of wartime intelligence works, wrote: “India had a figure comparable with Garbo (Juan Pujol García ) himself; comparable if not in inventiveness, then certainly in intelligence, personality and the dominance he established over his control … [he was] a kind of Lawrence of Arabia, a master of disguise, held in numinous respect by the hill tribes of the northwest frontier”.
Consider this: In that era, only one Indian—KM Cariappa, then a Lieutenant Colonel—was in a position to command British Indian troops. And yet, Talwar was operating at the highest levels of international espionage, deceiving, supplying misinformation, disinformation and swindling the Axis of nearly £2.5 million, and manipulating intelligence flows across four empires. He outsmarted the Whites of that time all.
After World War II, Bhagat Ram Talwar vanished into obscurity. Some said he settled in Afghanistan, others claimed he was in Delhi or Uttar Pradesh. He resurfaced briefly in 1973, at a seminar on Netaji in Kolkata, where he even spoke about their shared journey.
We still do not know whether Netaji was ever aware that his companion Rahamat Khan—who had guided him through the mountains of Afghanistan—was in fact one of the most dangerous, daring, and deceptive spies of the World War II. But it is widely believed that Bhagat Ram Talwar might have fed false intelligence to the Japanese—and, possibly, even misled Netaji’s INA in the process.
Foot Note : Bhagat Ram Talwar’s elder brother Hari Kishan Talwar was a revolutionary who attempted to assassinate Governor of Punjab Sir Geoffrey de Montmorency on 23 December 1930 in a University programme .
The Governor escaped the first two shots and when Hari Kishan was going to shoot him from close range one very young Dr S Radhakrishnan who was there covered the Governor. Hari Kishan told him – Dr Sahab, please leave him, I do not wan to harm you. Dr Radhakrishnan ater became our President. But before he could shoot the governor again, policemen came rushing and one Sub-Inspector Chanan Singh was shot , he died later. Two others were also injured in the melee and shooting. Hari Kishan exhausted all his six bullets and was captured. He was hanged on June 9, 1931.
Hiri Kishan and Bhagat Ram’s father Lala Gurudas Mal Talwar was marksman and great hunter. He taught them how to fire and fire straight. After Hari Kishan was captured Lala Gurudas Mal Talwar, his father came to meet him and his first question was –how you could miss ? Hari Kishan answered- the chair on which I stood up to take aim, it tilted a bit and the bullet missed the target.
Post Script : Having said all , and after you heard about Bhagat Ram Talwar a ka Silver, ROM, RK , one of the smartest, sharpest Spies and his global connections and outstanding shadow exploits , just remember Rajpal Yadav who played Bhagat Ram in 2004 biopic “Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero”. Did Director Shyam Benegal went by the ‘face value’ only ? Not sure.
( All Information/ quotes are gleaned from books and open sources. Courtesy to Mihir Bose’ book for the pictures used here.)
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