The EIC's Forgotten Spy: Jaswant Rao and the Network of Informants

This episode uncovers the shadowy world of East India Company intelligence in 18th-century India. While the Company's armies and navies are well-documented, its network of spies, informants, and double agents was just as crucial. We focus on Jaswant Rao, a Marathi-speaking Brahmin who served as a key informant for the British in the 1770s. Operating out of Pune, he fed intelligence on Maratha troop movements, court intrigues, and French contacts to Company officials in Bombay. His reports, preserved in the Maharashtra State Archives, reveal a sophisticated system of coded letters, dead drops, and bribery. We explore how the Company used local intermediaries to gather intelligence on rivals like the Marathas, Mysore under Hyder Ali, and the French. This episode challenges the notion that British military superiority alone won India — it was also won through whispers, gold, and betrayal. We also touch on the moral complexities of collaboration and the risks faced by Indian spies caught between empires. #EastIndiaCompany #Espionage #JaswantRao #MarathaEmpire #Pune #BritishIntelligence #HyderAli #Mysore #18thCentury #ColonialIndia #Spies #IndiaHistory #CompanyBahadur #BombayPresidency #MarathaHistory #FrenchInIndia #HistoryPodcast #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo