Sir Robert Nathan (1868–1921) was a British intelligence official notable for his work against the Indian revolutionaries in

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

, Britain and North America.

Early career in India

Nathan was educated at

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite ...

, before joining the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million ...

in 1888. He was appointed secretary of the Indian Universities Commission in 1902, and Private Secretary to the Viceroy, Lord Curzon, in 1905. In 1907 Nathan was made Chief Secretary to the Government of Eastern Bengal and Assam, and Commissioner of Dhaka Police. In 1908, Nathan, then the Police Commissioner of

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

, was responsible along with the district collector H.L. Salkeld for uncovering the revolutionary organisation of the ''

Anushilan Samiti Anushilan Samiti ( bn, অনুশীলন সমিতি, , bodybuilding society) was an Indian fitness club, which was actually used as an underground society for anti-British revolutionaries. In the first quarter of the 20th century it su ...

'', and for instituting the measures to suppress the organisation.

Return to Britain

Nathan was appointed Vice Chancellor of Calcutta University in 1914, and the same year returned from India on account of ill-health. He began his work for British intelligence against Indian revolutionaries in October 1914. After retiring from the ICS in 1915, Nathan joined the MI5's section dealing with the Indian seditionist movement in Europe, called MI5(g), that was formed at the time headed by

Vernon Kell Major General Sir Vernon George Waldegrave Kell, (21 November 1873 – 27 March 1942) was a British Army general and the founder and first Director of the British Security Service, otherwise known as MI5. Known as K, he was described in '' ...

. Nathan's fellow officer at the time was another ex-Indian police official, H. L. Stephenson. He headed at the time the political branch of the Secret Service, and along with

Basil Thomson Sir Basil Home Thomson, (21 April 1861 – 26 March 1939) was a British colonial administrator and prison governor, who was head of Metropolitan Police CID during World War I. This gave him a key role in arresting wartime spies, and he was cl ...

who headed the Special Branch of the Scotland Yard, Nathan was closely involved in the interrogation of Indians who worked along with the Germans during the war. Nathan's efforts, along with those of John Wallinger's Indian Political Intelligence Office (with whom Nathan worked closely), were key in the British counter-espionage work. Nathan identified plans by

Ghadar Party The Ghadar Movement was an early 20th century, international political movement founded by expatriate Indians to overthrow British rule in India. The early movement was created by conspirators who lived and worked on the West Coast of the United ...

and the Berlin Committee to assassinate

Lord Kitchener Lord Kitchener may refer to: * Earl Kitchener, for the title * Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, (; 24 June 1850 – 5 June 1916) was a senior British Army officer and colonial administrator. ...

in 1915 through an associate of Har Dayal, Gobind Behari Lal. He was also responsible at this time, along with Basil Thomson, to turn Harish Chandra (who was associated with the Berlin Committee) into a double agent. Nathan was also responsible for the plans made by British intelligence in late 1915 to assassinate

Virendranath Chattopadhyaya Virendranath Chattopadhyaya ( bn, বীরেন্দ্রনাথ চট্টোপাধ্যায়), alias Chatto, (31 October 1880 – 2 September 1937, Moscow), also known by his pseudonym Chatto, was a prominent Indian revolutiona ...

through agent Donald Gullick.

Work in North America

Later, on instructions from British secret service, Robert Nathan transferred to the Pacific coast of North America where the

worked closely with the German consulate at San Francisco to obtain arms and men for what came to be known as the Ghadar Conspiracy. Nathan successfully brought the Ghadarites and staff at the German consulate to trial following the ''Annie Larsen'' arms plot. He organised the Hindu–German Conspiracy Trial, which at the time was the longest in American legal history. He was responsible for the arrest of

Chandra Kanta Chakraverty Chandra ( sa, चन्द्र, Candra, shining' or 'moon), also known as Soma ( sa, सोम), is the Hindu god of the Moon, and is associated with the night, plants and vegetation. He is one of the Navagraha (nine planets of Hinduism) and ...

and his subsequent interrogation, along with that

Ernst Sekunna Ernst is both a surname and a given name, the German, Dutch, and Scandinavian form of Ernest. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Adolf Ernst (1832–1899) German botanist known by the author abbreviation "Ernst" * Anton Ernst (1975- ...

. Through March 1917, Nathan worked closely with William Wiseman, and negotiated with the

US State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other na ...

the details of the case against the Indian conspirators. He strongly supported granting a guarantee to the United States not to be held responsible for violation of neutrality.

Later life

Nathan returned to Britain at the end of World War I where he died in 1921.

Publications

Official History of Plague in India; Progress of Education in India, 1897-8, etc. "Nathan, Robert (NTN885R)"
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Notes

References

*Dictionary of Indian Biography. Charles Edward Buckland. 1906. p313 *Development of University Education, 1916-1920. Suresh Chandra Ghosh. 1977. p359 *Sir Horace Rumbold; Portrait of a Diplomat: 1869-1941. Martin Gilbert, Michael Gilbert. 1973. p52 *Who's who: An Annual Biographical Dictionary. Henry Robert Addison, Charles Henry Oakes, et al. p1117 *'' The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia''. Isaac Landman, Simon Cohen. 1939. p111 *Encyclopaedia Judaica. Fred Skolnik, Michael Berenbaum. 1972. p847 {{DEFAULTSORT:Nathan, Robert Indian Civil Service (British India) officers British police officers in India Hindu–German Conspiracy World War I spies for the United Kingdom Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire 1868 births 1921 deaths