2The Present Book Is The First Account By A Person Who Has Actually Served In Raw At A Senior Level. Though Not An Insider, He Was Part Of The Organisation For A Little Less Than Four Years And Was Able To See Its Functioning From Close Quarters. Since He Was Concerned With Signal Intelligence Rather Than Human Intelligence Operations, Most Of The Coverage Is Devoted To The Former. The Book Brings To Light Several Lacunae In The Functioning Of The Country'S Top Intelligence Agency, The Most Glaring Being The Anomalies In Procurement Of Equipment, Lack Of Accountability And Our Dependence On Foreign Sources, With The Resultant Threat To National Security. Some Of The Hitherto Untold Stories Recounted In The Book Are: -1. How Equipment Was Purchased From Foreign Companies At Prices That Were More Ten Times The Market Price By Altering Technical Parameters. 2. How The Security Of The Prime Minister Was Almost Compromised For A Few Pieces Of Silver.3. The Circumstances Leading To The Death Of One Of Raw'S Brightest Officers, Vipin Handa. 4. The Stories Of Moles In The Country'S Top Intelligence Agencies, Including That Of Rabinder Singh. 5. The Bitter Rivalry Between Raw And Ib, And Its Effects.The Modus Operandi Of Foreign Intelligence Agencies In Recruiting Moles In India.

In God we trust, the rest we monitor . . . A former chief of India's external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing, deconstructs the shadowy world of spies, from the Cold War era to the age of global jihad, from surveillance states to psy-war and cyberwarfare, from gathering information to turning it into credible intelligence. Vikram Sood provides a panoramic view of the rarely understood profession of spying to serve a country's strategic and security interests. As a country's stature and reach grow, so do its intelligence needs. This is especially true for one like India that has ambitions of being a global player even as it remains embattled in its own neighbourhood. The Unending Game tackles these questions while providing a national and international perspective on gathering external intelligence, its relevance in securing and advancing national interests, and why intelligence is the first playground in the game of nations.

In The Ultimate Goal, Vikram Sood, former chief of India's external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), explains 'the narrative' and how a country's ability to construct, sustain and control narratives, at home and abroad, enhances its strength and position. Intelligence agencies invariably play a critical role in this, an often-indispensable tool of statecraft. A 'narrative' may not necessarily be based on truth, but it does need to be plausible, have a meaning and create a desired perception. During most of the twentieth century, intelligence agencies helped shape narratives favourable to their countries' agendas through literature, history, drama, art, music and cinema. Today, social media has become crucial to manipulating, countering or disrupting narratives, with its ability to spread fake news disinformation, and provoke reactions.

Somewhere deep in the archives of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) in the heart of New Delhi lies a set of papers that researchers and historians interested in recording the history of Indian intelligence, would love to get their hands on. Alas, those documents-transcripts of tape-recorded conversations with RN Kao, the legendary spy chief-are not going to be available until 2025, according to instructions left by him, months before he passed away in 2002. So until those tapes and papers are made public, any biography of Rameshwar Nath Kao or 'Ramji' to friends, colleagues and family would have to depend on personal memories of a vast array of individuals who knew him in different capacities and their interpretation of his personality and contribution.

In Inside Nepal, Jeevnathan, head of the Eastern Service Bureau (ESB) of India's external intelligence agency, has been charged by the Agency's headquarters with overseeing the closure of the Bureau. In the shadowy world of intelligence operations, the line between right and wrong, good and bad can often become blurred. Presented with the opportunity to redeem the Bureau, Jeevnathan launches a series of audacious operations aimed at securing India's interests vis-a-vis Nepal. In The Walk-In, Jeevnathan, head of the Dhaka unit of India's external intelligence agency, is taken completely by surprise when a young man walks boldly into his office and declares his intention of serving as a source for Jeevnathan. Espionage is a risky business and sources are recruited with great care to minimize the risk of exposure. Is he a mole? Yet he never pushs Jeevnathan for sensitive information. Is he in it for the money? Yet he has never demanded any. So who and what is he, and why was he so keen on helping Jeevnathan? Soon to be a major motion picture by Vishal Bhardwaj, this double-bill of pacey thrillers highlighting the exploits of India's intelligence agency will have your pulse racing.