Bhagat Ram Talwar: Indian spy who worked for five nations in WWII

Bhagat Ram Talwar, an Indian spy who helped Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose escape British India in 1941, later ran espionage operations for five countries during World War II: Germany, Italy, the Soviet Union, Britain, and Japan. British journalist Mihir Bose's book 'The Indian Spy' reconstructed Talwar's career, revealing how he fooled the Nazis while working for the British under handler Peter Fleming, whose brother Ian Fleming later created James Bond.

Talwar's role in guiding Bose from British India through the frontier region into Afghanistan is undisputed. The controversy lies in his shifting loyalties. According to Mihir Bose, Talwar initially used his access to Italian and German intelligence while privately holding communist sympathies. After Germany invaded the Soviet Union, he began working for Soviet intelligence, and in 1942, the British recruited him through Peter Fleming, codenaming him 'Silver'. Talwar transmitted reports to Berlin using a radio supplied by the Germans, often misleading them with British knowledge.

The Germans awarded Talwar the Iron Cross and channelled substantial funds through his operations. Netaji, however, never knew the full extent of Talwar's intelligence activities. Talwar's legacy remains contested: while he duped the Nazis for the British, critics point to his alliance with the British while staying close to Bose's network.