New Delhi [India]April 22 (ANI): Former Army Chief General MM Naravane (retd) has released a new book, a non-fiction work, which comes after the controversy earlier this year over his earlier work, Four Stars of Destiny, which remains unpublished.
In the book titled ‘Curious and Classified: Unraveling Military Myths and Mysteries’, General Naravane “pulls aside the still-drawn curtains on some of the most fascinating and compelling secrets that color the myths and traditions of the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force,” his publisher Rupa Publishing announced on Wednesday.
“A compelling exploration of the myths and memories that define the Indian Armed Forces. An account of courage, culture and curiosity in uniform,” reads the book description.
Last month, at a book signing event in Pune titled ‘The Cantonment Conspiracy’, a murder mystery set in 2025, the former Army chief told reporters that he was now interested in writing novels, apart from writing military reports for academic journals.
The former Army chief was embroiled in a controversy after Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, cited his unpublished memoirs to target the Center during the 2020 standoff against China.
On February 2 this year, while offering thanks for the President’s speech, the Lok Sabha witnessed heated verbal exchanges after Gandhi sought to quote a magazine article containing excerpts from General Naravane’s unpublished memoirs.
Gandhi’s response was interrupted by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, who raised concerns that an MP could not quote from an unpublished book, the authenticity of which he said had not been verified. The governing bodies objected to Gandhi’s attempt to quote excerpts from the book. The row has escalated to an extent where opposition MPs have moved a no-confidence motion against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, with Rahul Gandhi not being allowed to speak in the House allegedly being one of the reasons. The motion was dropped after a voice vote in the second phase of the budget session of Parliament.
Penguin Random House India in February said it had the exclusive publishing rights to the former army chief’s memoir and clarified that the book had not been published yet. 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.
Meanwhile, General Naravane’s new non-fiction book delves into lesser-known stories about the Indian Army. It traces the roots of the Sikh Army in the 17th and 18th centuries from the popular chant “Chak Di Phat”, and examines the life of the “enduring spirit” Captain Baba Harbhajan Singh, celebrated in military folklore.
Naravane tells the story of Badloram, the inspiration behind the tapping number ‘Badloram Ka Badan’, who was killed in action in the Battle of Kohima in 1944, and notes how Bangalore (now Bengaluru) became associated with a weapon that was seen as a game-changer during the First World War.
Other interesting aspects covered in the book include ‘the fate of INS Khukri, the extraordinary sagas of the pilots and their call signs, or the raw courage of Bidungi, the military mule’.
The book addresses “unexplored, bizarre and often entertaining aspects of our armed forces,” according to the publisher.
The blurb for the live-action film includes a note from General VP Malik (Retd), who also contributed to the book “Four Stars of Destiny”.
The publisher described the book as “a captivating, eye-opening, down-to-earth page-turner that will interest anyone who refuses to accept superficial facts.”
General Naravane served as the 28th Chief of Army Staff from December 2019 to April 2022. Commissioned into the 7th Battalion, Sikh Light Infantry in 1980, he has, during an illustrious career of over four decades, served in peacekeeping and diplomatic roles abroad and led operations along India’s most sensitive borders. He has been awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Sena Medal and Vishisht Seva Medal. (that I)
