If the word spy conjures up visions of a suave secret agent armed with gizmos, driving in hi-tech fast cars, surrounded by beautiful women and sipping martinis ‘shaken, not stirred’, it’s time to know that nothing could be further from reality. Forget a glamorous lifestyle and fringe benefits, Indian spies are more often than not recruited from border villages, sent in for specific low-level missions and conveniently forgotten if things turn ugly. In India, while most cross-border human intelligence (Humint) is gathered by the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), other organisations concerned, including the Border Security Force (BSF), the Indian Army and the Intelligence Bureau, have their own set of informers and spies. While India has a good network in Tibet and Bangladesh, it reportedly has an extensive spy network in operation in Pakistan. According to estimates, RAW runs as many as 35,000 agents in various parts of the country who gather intelligence from regions extending up to the North West Frontier Province and Balochistan. Spies are sent in on missions as mundane as gathering tactical information about units and formations near the border to specific missions deep inside enemy country. Spy masters prefer border villages for recruiting as similar facial features, language and customs make it easier for the undercover agents to operate across the line. In the murky world of spy running, the line between legal and illegal is often blurred and spies also run a number of ‘side businesses’, like smuggling, drug trafficking and gun running. Some are sent in on a specific reconnaissance mission by the government, are trained for single missions and return home after the assignment. Others, of the more valuable kind, are sent in deep under cover for several years and even end up settling down in the foreign country. Ex-military personnel, who have access to military areas and basic military knowledge, make the most coveted spies. Similarly, Pakistan’s ISI also prefers to recruit ex-army soldiers and junior civilian staff for gathering intelligence. Given the large population of ex-servicemen in both countries and the low pensions, agencies don’t face a major resource crunch. The treatment given to compromised agents by both countries is similar. Spies are never talked about, helped or even acknowledged as citizens should they get caught. However, the pay package comes with a built-in promise that the family of a compromised agent will be taken care of by the home country.
