This collection examines the controversial role of Vaishno Das Bagai, a well-documented British colonial spy whose actions contributed to the unraveling of the Ghadar Party's revolutionary movement committed to India's independence along the Pacific Coast in the early 1900s.

Vaishno Das Bagai arrived in San Francisco in 1915 with his wife, Kala, and their three sons, carrying $25,000 in gold. Prior to his arrival, Bagai had offered his services to the British government as a paid informant. Once settled in California, he established close ties with the British Consulate in San Francisco while simultaneously presenting himself as a committed member of the Ghadar Party, an organization founded by Indian immigrants to resist colonial rule.

On July 8, 1917, the San Francisco Examiner reported that a federal grand jury had indicted 105 individuals including Ghadar activists and German operatives for conspiring to incite rebellion against British rule in India with support from Germany. These indictments stemmed from violations of U.S. neutrality laws during World War I. Following the raid on the Ghadar headquarters, all staff members were arrested. Curiously, Bagai's close confidant of party leader Ram Chandra, was neither charged nor referenced during the trial, which lasted from November 1917 to April 1918. Evidence from archival sources suggests that Bagai played a decisive role in dismantling the movement. He reportedly provided British officials with detailed intelligence on party members, their responsibilities, and internal operations materials that were later used in court proceedings. The trial resulted in the conviction of 29 individuals, including 14 Indian revolutionaries sentenced to lengthy prison terms. These convictions marked a devastating blow to the Ghadar Party's mission of liberating India from British domination.

Financial Misappropriation and Property Acquisition

Between August 1916 and March 1917, Bagai exploited his trusted position within the Ghadar Party to reroute revolutionary funds donated by Indian immigrants to support the independence movement into his personal bank accounts as well purchasing real estate in Berkeley, California. Instead of safeguarding these resources for organizational needs, Bagai conspired with Ram Chandra to obscure financial records that might implicate Chandra.

Claims passed down in the Bagai family

Despite the known allegations that Vaishno Das Bagai was a British spy, Kala Bagai, her son Ram Bagai, and granddaughter Rani Bagai maintained that Mr. Bagai was a true patriate of India's freedom and a member of the revolutionary Gadar Party in San Francisco. This is perhaps natural, as kin often harbor a desire and bias to present their ancestors in a favorable light - even if this is not historically correct. Kala Bagai has publicly denied, in her recorded statement, claims that her husband, Vaishno Das Bagai, was an "English spy,". Kala elaborates (0:38.22) on why people believed Mr. Bagai was a British spy as follows:

Some people were... not only mean but jealous because we had the money and they said Mr. Bagai was a spy, English spy. He was getting the money from English people, but it was not so... 11

In a subsequent portion of the same recording, Kala discloses that she married Mahesh Chandra after Mr. Bagai's death. The stipulation for their union was that neither of their families should be made aware of the marriage. One must wonder: if Kala was capable of concealing her second marriage from her family, why would she not also hide from her children the fact that their father had, in fact, been a British spy? In a letter regarding Vaishno Das Bagai, Ram Bagai (Kala Bagai's son) also rejected the allegation made by Ram Chandra that Vaishno Das Bagai was a British spy, dismissing it as mere rumor. Ram goes on to say that his father was used as a tool in the hands of his so-called friend Pt. Ram Chandra. Rani Bagai has consistently portrayed her grandfather in online articles and videos as an Indian patriot who was deeply passionate about India's fight for freedom. Again, it is entirely natural for kin to harbor such biases. One notable example is a video interview showcased on South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA), in which she is heard stating:

RB 2:09 So when my grandparents arrived... You know, my grandfather's, I think, main wish in coming here was to work for India's independence and to join the Ghadar party to help fight for India's freedom. That was something my grandfather very strongly believed in and wanted, and he felt frustrated. As a young man he was, you know, pursued by the British and, you know, he was kind of a rabble rouser, kind of militant, and he didn't feel he could do anything from India where, you know, he's constantly being oppressed. There was no free speech at that time, or freedom. And he thought in the United States, I can do that. I can do what I can't do in India.

Kala Bagai Way Story

In 2020, with minimal research conducted to substantiate the Bagai family's narrative presented to city by local activists, a City of Berkeley Street was named to honor Kala Bagai, wife of a British colonial spy who betrayed members of the San Francisco based anti-colonial Ghadar movement for India's Freedom. The street is named after Kala Bagai, a socialite whose lifestyle was supported by the proceeds of her husband's work as a British informant.

Refrences

1. Russell Nauman, "Vault #9: The Restaurant | Angel Island Immigration Station-San Francisco," AIISF, May 28, 2024. https://www.aiisf.org/vault/restaurant
2. Popplewell, Richard J. Intelligence and Imperial Defence: British Intelligence and the Defence of the Indian Empire 1904-1924. London: Frank Cass, 1995; pp 246-247.
3. Letter from Carnegie Ross to the Viceroy regarding Bagai's service to the British Government, 24 Jan 1916. PRO FO115/2067, no. 23 (U.K. National Archives)
4. San Francisco Examiner, July 8, 1917. "S.F. Plot Suspects Indicted in Droves."
5. National Archives, Special Agent-in-Charge Don S. Rathbun, BOI Report 'In re: US v. Crowley et al., Neutrality Investigation,' 14 March 1916, San Francisco, 1, Box No. 20, RG 118, NA-PSR.
6. San Francisco Examiner, April 24, 1918. "All but One Guilty in Hindu Plot."
7. South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA). "Oral History Interview With Kala Bagai Chandra," August 19, 2013. https://www.saada.org/item/20130716-2997
8. Bagai, Ram. "Biography of Vaishno Das Bagai." South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA), September 18, 2016. https://www.saada.org/item/20130513-2741
9. McNish, Emily. "Rani Bagai on Vaishno Das Bagai." South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA), December 30, 2021. https://www.saada.org/item/20130821-3099