The Great Escape in Pursuit of Freedom: The Bose and Bhagat Ram
So who this man was? A freedom fighter, a social reformer? Or a spy, a super spy? This man spied for FIVE countries i.e., Britain, Soviets, Italians, Japanese and Germany. He milked about $2.5 Million from Germany alone during that World War II times, continued to fool them.
The Germans awarded him with their highest military medal of Iron Cross but in reality, this Pakhtun Hindu from Mardan was fooling them all the time. Nazi Germans were looking at ways to strike British in India through Kabul, and they spent millions on this man for the mission.
The Ghalla Dher Movement: Resistance and Land Reform Struggle
Bhagat Ram was instrumental in organizing the Ghalla Dher Peasant Movement. The movement started when Nawab of Toru fined his tenant Rs. 40 for his bullock strayed its way into another tenant’s field. The farmer unable to pay, Nawab seized his bullock.
Bhagat Ram helped the tenant took his revenge against the Nawab by uprooting the new orchard the Nawab had planted. Nawab, feeling insulted, used the opportunity to reassert his authority by imposing a collective on all of the villagers. This is how the Ghalla Dher Movement started.
The land was originally collective, but British rule introduced the Khan System favoring elites. The Nawab exploited peasants with taxes, triggering protests. The government arrested movement leaders, marking a pivotal moment in the struggle for land reforms.
They were released after Gandhi intervened.
From Land Reformer to Communist Revolutionary:
This land reform movement was also Bhagat Ram’s introduction to communism and the communist party Kirti Party. He left congress and became active member of the Kirti Party. He was assigned the duty to arrange for bring back in patriots and revolutionaries from exile.
And also to establish contact among the anti-British powers of the time and seek their help in fighting the British off, taking advantage of the World War II.
A whole team of such agents and activists among the locals were trained for the purpose.
Mission to Secure Subhas Chandra Bose’s Escape:
It was in May 1940, that he was tasked with arranging for the escape of Subhas Chandra Bose.
Subhas Chandra Bose was a prominent Indian nationalist leader who played a crucial role in the country’s struggle for independence from British rule. He initially joined the Indian National Congress (Congress Party), which was at the forefront of the independence movement. Bose was elected as the President of the Indian National Congress in 1938, but ideological differences with the party’s leadership, particularly with Mahatma Gandhi, led to his resignation in 1939.
They sought aid from Abad Khan of Pir Pai Nowshera, a transporter between Peshawar and Kabul. Initially planning Peshawar->Shabqadar->Lalpura->Jellalabad->Kabul route to reach the Soviet Union, they had to alter plans due to the arrest of a spy. The revised route became Peshawar-Khyber Pass-Jellalabad-Kabul, with successful contacts established after two agents crossed the Amu River into the Soviet Union.
The party taking Bose later crossed into Afghanistan. Bose was very happy at succeeding in crossing the British-India border with Afghanistan. It was here that Bose said that “Kaisa Sundhar Desh Hai” (How beautiful land is). When inquired what was so beautiful in this barren hilly land, he replied that the beauty of Afghanistan was her freedom.
From Denied Asylum to Axis Ally:
Soviets though didn’t allow Bose asylum they allowed him to travel through their territory into Europe. Bose then managed to reach Germany.
Where he established the Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) with British Indian soldiers held as prisoners under Nazi Germany, transforming them into freedom fighters. The military unit was associated with Imperial Japan and the other Axis powers to fight British.
Bhagat Ram was then employed by the Russians to work for them. However, it was the dynamics of World War II that saw Soviet Union cooperating with the British against the Nazis Germans, after the Germany attacked Russia puzzling many. It was on this point that Russia handed over the services of Bhagat Ram to the British.
Bhagat Ram travelled a dozen times to Kabul during which he had established contacts with the Germans at Kabul. Germans were trying to establish their influence in Afghanistan.
The apartment that he had in Kabul was paid for the Germans. They had given him equipment that would broadcast messages to Berlin directly. However, these messages were all cooked up messages on different military activities.
References:
Remember, Bhagat Ram was master of lies — usual for spied. After partition and his migration to India and wrote his own book (above). He claimed to have been loyal to Bose through out.
After 75 years, it was Mihir Bose who discovered that Bhagat Ram was a quintuple spy of the World War II and have been fooling everyone all along.
