We all know weird and wonderful things often happen in our country. It’s what makes India interesting, exciting and, frequently, unpredictable. However, a recent story in The Washington Post has added a new and altogether different dimension. Frankly, I’m not sure how to describe it. I’ll leave that to you.
This is how The Post story begins: “A pigeon held for eight months on suspicion of spying for China has been released after Indian authorities determined it was no avian agent of espionage, but a disoriented Taiwanese racing bird that had lost its way.”
Found by the police near a port in Mumbai in May, with metal rings tied to its legs and what appeared like Chinese writing on the reverse side of its wings, the pigeon was held in custody for eight months.
The Post reports it was told by Mumbai police that after “deep and proper inquiry and investigations” they did not find “any suspicious material or fact”. Consequently, the bird was released — now nearly three weeks ago — and is in good health.
Experts consulted by the paper have said the pigeon was possibly a racing bird that got lost “during a race off the coast of Taiwan and may have hitched a ride on a boat to make the roughly 3,000-mile journey”.
Yang Tsung-te, the head of the Taiwanese racing pigeon trading platform Nice Pigeon, told The Post that “a racing pigeon can fly for up to 1,000 kilometres in a day, but for it to fly to India, it had to make stops”. However, the paper adds, “Some racing pigeons from the island have made it as far as the United States and Canada”. Given there’s only a vast expanse of water between Taiwan and North America, I’m not sure how they did that. Do pigeons know how to swim?
It transpires that this is not the first time the Indian authorities have incarcerated a pigeon. The Post says it happened in 2015 and also in 2020. On that occasion, the “police briefly held a Pakistani fisherman’s pigeon after it flew over the countries’ heavily militarised border”.
Now, before you start ridiculing the good police of Mumbai, The Post tells us there’s a history of avian espionage. “During World War I, Germany deployed pigeons with cameras strapped onto their chests.” I dare say the camera was bigger than the bird! “In World War II, Allied forces used the birds to exchange secret messages.” And there’s a very simple explanation behind this. “Because pigeons are a ‘common species’, the camera-equipped birds could conceal their intelligence collection ‘among the activities of thousands of other birds’, according to the CIA, which also developed such a camera.” Since this has the CIA’s imprimatur, it has to be the truth.
However, not everyone The Post spoke to seems to have agreed. A professor at New York University and the author of The Global Pigeon, Colin Jerolmack, found the Indian situation ludicrous. Actually, “quite comical”, if I’m accurate. China, he said, has many more sophisticated tools for espionage which they can successfully deploy against India — and no doubt do — than racing pigeons.
Perhaps. But as I sit by the window and discern the twittering of pigeons, I can’t quite help but feel as if I’m under scrutiny. Could this be how our dear government knows what I’m up to? The pigeons are often on the window ledge and I’m not sure it’s only to leave their droppings behind. Their little eyes stare inward and I suspect they’ve taken in a lot more than they’ve deposited.
So, the next time you spot a bird hovering above or perched on a tree looking down, ask if it’s been sent for a purpose. Perhaps not all the way from Beijing but possibly a lot closer from South Block. Such birds are not to be fed. The crumbs we give them are nothing like the rewards they receive from their masters.
Finally, if you think this is one for the birds, you could well be right!
Karan Thapar is the author of Devil’s Advocate: The Untold Story. The views expressed are personal
Karan Thapar is a super-looking genius who’s young, friendly, chatty and great fun to be with. He’s also very enjoyable to read. ...view detail
Caught in Mumbai, a spy who came in from China
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18.02.2024
We all know weird and wonderful things often happen in our country. It’s what makes India interesting, exciting and, frequently, unpredictable. However, a recent story in The Washington Post has added a new and altogether different dimension. Frankly, I’m not sure how to describe it. I’ll leave that to you.
This is how The Post story begins: “A pigeon held for eight months on suspicion of spying for China has been released after Indian authorities determined it was no avian agent of espionage, but a disoriented Taiwanese racing bird that had lost its way.”
Found by the police near a port in Mumbai in May, with metal rings tied to its legs and what appeared like Chinese writing on the reverse side of its wings, the pigeon was held in custody for eight months.
The Post reports it was told by Mumbai police that after “deep and proper inquiry and investigations” they did not find “any suspicious material or fact”. Consequently, the bird was released — now nearly three weeks ago — and is in good........
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