New Delhi: The book of former Indian Army chief General MM Naravane is now being reviewed. The Indian Army is reviewing the memoir of its former chief General MM Naravane, in which Defense Minister Rajnath Singh on the night of August 31, 2020, following the movement of Chinese PLA tanks and troops in Rechin La along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh Details of his conversation with have been disclosed.
According to the news of Indian Express, former Army Chief General MM Naravane has revealed the conversation he had with Defense Minister Rajnath Singh in his memoir ‘Four Stars of Destiny’. Excerpts from the memoir ‘Four Stars of Destiny’ were published by news agency Press Trust of India on December 18. Penguin Random House, the publisher of this book, has been asked not to share excerpts or soft copies of the book until the review is completed.
It has been claimed in this memoir that the Defense Ministry was also involved at some level in this entire exercise. In his memoir ‘Four Stars of Destiny’, Naravane also recounted Rajnath Singh’s instructions as well as a flurry of phone calls that night between the Defense Minister, the External Affairs Minister, the National Security Advisor and the Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) on the sensitive situation. Is. The memoir details the military standoff with China in eastern Ladakh in 2020, including the Galwan Valley clash and the Agneepath plan. Earlier this book was to be released in the market this month.
The Indian Express contacted General Naravane for a response, but he did not respond to specific questions on whether official approval was taken before handing over the manuscript to the publishers or whether the book release was delayed due to the review conducted by the Army. . General Naravane said, ‘I have done what I had to do and submitted the manuscript to the publishers several months ago. It is up to the publishers to indicate whether there has been a delay or not. They are the only ones in contact and they are not expected to tell me everything.
In fact, General Naravane’s memoir with details on the standoff in Ladakh comes at a time when India and China are still holding military and diplomatic talks to resolve the situation on the LAC. The last disengagement took place in September 2022 in the Gogra-Hot Springs area. Indian troops are being denied access to traditional patrolling points and the issue of presence of PLA troops in Depsang plains and Demchok remains. Last month, PTI had quoted excerpts from General Naravane’s book, which mentioned a conversation between him and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh on August 31, 2020.
what’s in the book
In fact, amidst the tense situation arising out of the advance of tanks and troops by the Chinese Army in the Rechin La mountain pass on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh decided on the night of August 31, 2020, along with the then Army Chief General MM. Leaving it to Naravane, he had said, ‘Do whatever you think is right’. Naravane said that after Rajnath Singh’s call, hundreds of different thoughts flashed in his mind. He wrote, ‘I informed the RM (Defence Minister) about the seriousness of the situation, who said he would contact me by around 10.30 pm, which he did.’
What else did the former army chief write in his memoirs?
The former army chief has written, ‘He (Defense Minister) said that he has spoken to the Prime Minister and this is completely a military decision. ‘Do whatever you think is right’. Naravane said, ‘The responsibility was now completely on me. I took a deep breath and sat quietly for a few minutes. Everything was quiet except the ‘tick-tick’ of the clock on the wall. He has written, ‘On one wall there was a map of Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh, on the other wall there was a map of Eastern Command. They were unmarked maps, but as soon as I looked at them, I could imagine the location of each unit and formation. We were prepared in every way, but did I really want to start a war?’ In the memoir, General Naravane has outlined his thought process of that night.
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Tags: Army Chief
FIRST PUBLISHED : January 5, 2024, 06:29 IST
