Book Review | Of secrets, spies & a power couple

The appeal of a good spy story has not diminished over the years. Be it a rivetting spy movie or a crisply written thriller, the appeal of the genre has remained strong over the decades. A Singular Spy: The Untold Story of Coomar Narain by journalist Kallol Bhattacherjee is the latest addition to that long list.

The story of Coomar is known to many people, though in the days of social media and fast-moving news items, it may have faded from memory. It may not be an untold story and could have been titled, the Coomar story retold. But with his extensive research by digging into newspapers archives and talking to key members of the investigating team, the author has managed to put the story in a larger national and international context and added new life to it.

Coomar Narain, an ambitious traditional Tamil Brahmin from Palakkad and his wife Getty, a strong-willed, charismatic Christian beauty from Mangalore who changed her name to Geeta to help her husband navigate the corridors of power in Delhi, is a familiar one. Several such powerbrokers and their trophy wives are regularly seen in diplomatic and official gatherings in Delhi.

“Marrying her was the first business decision he made” writes the author since Coomar, who was employed by his company SLM Maneklal as liaison officer, was required to build connections with high-ranking politicians. But he lacked the ability to cultivate politicians which was done by his vivacious wife.”

The author observes “the ambitious couple was perhaps best suited for intelligence,” as the Coomars dined and wined politicians, government officials and diplomats on a regular basis.

Bhattacherjee also focuses on the company he worked for. “The Maneklals were the success story of independent India’s engineering industry.” The company had soon expanded into areas that were different and far away from its core sector.

The book contextualises the happenings in the larger framework of India’s growth and development. It reveals the weaknesses of the country’s political and bureaucratic structure and the challenges it encountered as it emerged as a regional power and played a bigger role in the wider world.

It is also about the interplay of foreign spies, their attempt to bag lucrative contracts in defence and other sectors and keep themselves abreast of developments, often before they happened.

Coomar’s network was mammoth and 188 witnesses, mostly government officials, were summoned during the trial. He had milked them for state secrets and sold them to foreign governments. The results of his actions were found to have impacted national and international policy when the scandal broke in 1985.

The book reveals the important role lower-level government officials working in senior government and minister’s offices played in his spy network in the pre-computer and Internet days.

However, its weakness lies in the author’s attempt at giving too many details of characters, who are important, but don’t merit so much space. Bhattacherjee also gets carried away at times in putting far too many national and international developments which interferes with the narrative.

But the book is worth a read to know about the Coomars and the interesting evolution of India, especially in its pre-liberalised days.

Pranay Sharma is a senior journalist based in Kolkata

A Singular Spy: The Untold Story of Coomar Narain

By Kallol Bhattacherjee

Bloomsbury India

pp. 196; Rs 499