“In bureaucracy, the right hand does not know what the left hand does. Sometimes it cuts its nose to spite the rivals’ face, in the course of turf wars.”
Kao took classes in Law in Allahabad University but left when he joined the Indian Imperial Police in 1940 after passing Civil services examination. His first posting was in Kanpur as an Assistant Superintendent of Police. Kao was deputed to the Intelligence Bureau (I.B.), on the eve of Independence when it was being reorganised under B.N. Mullick. Sometime in the late 50s he was sent to Ghana to help the then government of prime minister Kwame Nkrumah set up an intelligence and security organisation there.
In 1977, the Government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was toppled when the Congress was defeated in the elections by the Janata Party. Kao’s closeness to Indira Gandhi had aroused deep suspicion among the political class about his role in the Emergency. His tenure had been extended by Mrs. Gandhi; he would have retired in 1976 otherwise.
Most of the details of Kao’s life will remain secret for the better part of the next century. However it is no secret that Kao made immeasurable contributions to the security of India. His invaluable service in various capacities in the Indian intelligence establishment led to great improvements in its functioning. Notwithstanding all criticisms regarding his political impact, it is through the untiring efforts of Kao that the foundations of modern intelligence handling in India were laid and a generation of intelligence professionals were trained.
Kao created the National Security Guard (NSG), during the Punjab terrorism of the 1980s, to address the needs of the Government of India to counteract terrorism within the country.
-Shikhar Swami