NEW DELHI: A sneak peek at Shashi Tharoor’s book ‘Wonderland’ at a friend’s house two years ago gave former Army chief General Manoj Naravane the idea for his new book – a lively exploration of the ‘unexplored, bizarre and often entertaining aspects’ of India’s armed forces.
The General, who was in the news recently for his controversial unpublished memoir ‘Four Stars of Destiny’, mentions some of the most interesting nuggets about the myths and traditions of the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force in his book ‘The Curious and the Classified: Military Myths and Secrets Exposed’.
In his introduction, he writes about his admiration for Tharoor’s book, a collection of essays centered on the peculiarities of the English language.
“If such a captivating book can be written on the quirks and peculiarities of the English language, how about a similar book on the Indian Army,” asked General Naravane, who served as the 28th Chief of Army Staff from December 2019 to April 2022.
“The germ of this idea sprung into my mind on the first day I looked at the book,” he writes, “but it wasn’t until mid-2025 that I was able to start thinking about it seriously…”
In the book, published by Rupa, General Naravane shares several vignettes – how the popular chant of ‘Chak de phatte’ has its roots in the Sikh army of the 17th and 18th centuries, or the inspiration behind the tapping number ‘Badluram ka Badan’. Badloram was killed in action in the decisive Battle of Kohima in 1944.
“Be it the enduring spirit of Baba Harbhajan, the fate of INS Khukri, the extraordinary sagas of its pilots and their call signs, or the raw bravery of Bidonji, the military mule, you will find all that and more in this thoroughly entertaining but meticulously researched foray into the unexplored, bizarre and often entertaining aspects of our Armed Forces,” the publishers said in a statement.
In “Badluram ka Badan,” which has become the regimental anthem of the Assam Regiment and is sung at the Martyrdom Parade at the regimental post in Happy Valley, Shillong, during the passing ceremony, the general describes how the song, complete with marching, stomping, clapping and energetic footwork, had gone beyond the bounds.
Badloram was a soldier in the 1st Battalion of the Assam Regiment, part of the garrison deployed at Kohima, and was killed in the early stages of the engagement.
“After his death, the CQM of Badluram did not, either by accident or design, remove his name from the rations force. As long as the supply lines remained open, rations authorized for Badluram continued to arrive, accumulating in a small surplus.
“When Japanese forces surrounded the unit at Kohima and cut off supply lines, it was this extra stock of rations that saved countless lives,” the book says.
In 1946, Major M. T. Proctor, moved by the saga of how the absurdity of drawing rations to a dead man long after he was gone eventually helped save lives, composed the marching song “Badloram Ka Badan”.
General Naravane said he was keen for the tales to be attractive to the general population, to be anecdotal rather than academic, yet have an underlying theme that highlights the military ethos.
He writes: “It could not be based on some obscure military fact buried in some dusty archive. It had to be closer to the surface in order to resonate with a wide range of readers through aspects that readers could identify with, perhaps through repeated encounters despite having no knowledge of the historical background or significance.”
All stories, according to him, have their origin in some real-life event, which has been embellished, over a period of time, by telling and retelling.
He adds that the purpose of each story is to commemorate important events or figures, and to bridge the gap between the armed forces and civil society while giving a glimpse into our world.
According to the general, his book is “meant to be an entertaining read and not a serious academic endeavor intended to help with competitive examination.”
Amid reports of unauthorized copies of General Naravane’s “Four Stars of Destiny” being in circulation, publisher Penguin Random House India in February said it had exclusive publishing rights to the memoir and clarified that the book had not yet been published.
Gen Naravane also clarified that no copies of the book have been published, distributed, sold “in print or digital form” or made available to the public in any way.
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