TheMI5(g), or theMI5 G section, was a branch ofMI5 that was formed during World War I to address the wartime espionage operation by theIndian revolutionary movement in Europe.[1] The department arose by renaming theMO5(g) MI5(g) in 1916. The MI5 itself, working underVernon Kell, had a number of India experts at the beginning of the war. In September 1916, a special section, the MI5(d), was formed to operate counter-espionage networks throughout theBritish Empire. Another subsection, the MI5(b), was formed in January 1917 to deal specifically with Indians and "other oriental races".
The MI5(g) had 27 officers in its staff, eight of whom had served in India before the war. Among them were ex-Indian civil servants includingRobert Nathan and H. L. Stephenson. The main emphasis of this counter-espionage network was to prevent the subversion of Indian troops in the European theatre. The organisation, especially under Nathan, worked closely with the Special Branch of theScotland Yard in Britain and with theIndian Political Intelligence Office headed byJohn Wallinger, which operated a network of spies in neutral Switzerland which a number of the Indian revolutionaries and members of theBerlin Committee used as a base.[2]
MI5(g)'s work at the time identified the plans byGhadar Party and the Berlin Committee to assassinateLord Kitchener in 1915 through an associate ofHar Dayal,Gobind Behari Lal.[3] It was also responsible at this time, along with Basil Thomson, for the capture of Harish Chandra (who was associated with the Berlin Committee) and turning him into a double agent.[4] Through Harish Chandra was also identified plans for obtaining information of Ghadarite intrigues in Japan and China. Among other works, Nathan was responsible for the plans made by British intelligence in late 1915 to assassinateVirendranath Chattopadhyaya through an agent by the name of Donald Gullick.[5]
| Background |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Ghadar | ||
| Berlin Committee | ||
| Indian figures | ||
| German figures | ||
| Conspiracy | ||
| Counter-intelligence | ||
| Related topics | ||