Vaishno Das Bagai Identified as 'Informant No. 1' (Colonial Spy)
Vaishno Das Bagai was identified as “Informant No. 1” in confidential British Consulate memoranda from San Francisco in 1916. According to dispatches by Carnegie Ross, Bagai was employed as a colonial spy reporting on the activities of the Ghadar Party, a revolutionary organization of Indian immigrants in North America.
Role in Intelligence: Bagai was linked to coded reports where “One(1)” referred to him. He provided information about fellow revolutionaries, including Ram Chandra (“Four(4)”) and Ishwar Chandra (“Seven(7)”), who were suspected of coordinating with German officials and experimenting with bomb-making.
Transcription
For British Embassy, Washington. 254
Consulate-General, New York.
Dominion Immigration Agt.
Vancouver.
MEMORANDUM San Francisco, Cal.
March 23, 1916
The informant mentioned in my memorandum of March 10 reports that:
Four(4) has recently had a letter from Har Dyal written from Constantinople, and that Four(4) is constantly in touch with Har Dyal through the German officials in Switzerland.
Seven(7) again said that as long as Four(4) was here they could not expect any further aid from the German Consul as the Consul wished to know how every dollar was spent and Four(4) only reported verbally and had nothing to show on paper. Seven(7) stated that someone close to Four(4) was suspected of being a British spy, and also others here associated with the party. (This may refer to One(1))
Seven(7) now stated that there were several people now being instructed in the making of bombs, but the informant was unable to find out anything about this. Seven(7) is very cautious even among his brothers and sisters. The informant thinks he is not in any way implicated in the bomb but knows who the people are and where they are made.
BRITISH CONSULATE-GENERAL.
THE VICEROY OF INDIA,
DELHI.
KEY TO CODE NAMES:
One(1) = Vaishno Das Bagai
Four(4) = Ram Chandra
Seven(7) = Ishwar Chandra
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