AA Edit | Let General's Book Be Published

The insistence of the government and the Lok Sabha Speaker on not allowing Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi to read from a magazine excerpts which are purportedly part of an unpublished memoir of former Chief of Army Staff Gen. M.M. Naravane (Retd) betrays the lack of confidence of the powers that be in the country discussing a particular moment in the nation’s history.

Gen. Naravane led the country’s Army when the Chinese made some misadventures in the Galwan valley in 2020 precipitating a series of events that are now seen as a big setback to the relationship between two nuclear armed neighbours. Gen. Naravane’s book, Four Stars of Destiny, is waiting for the government’s clearance since 2023 and the article which Mr Gandhi was quoting contains info pointing to the absence of the political leadership in the all-important minutes and hours when Chinese tanks, backed by the infantry, were making advances on Indian positions in the Kailash range. Apparently, the leadership left it to the professional judgment of the soldiers.

Independent India has developed a system where the critical decisions that can have larger consequences are taken by the political leadership: the ‘what’ will be decided by the civilian leadership and the ‘how’ by the professionals. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has often claimed to have advised the defence forces on minute operational aspects. But if these excerpts are anything to go by, then they have the power to discredit all such statements. This could perhaps be the reason why the book has not seen the light of day.

India has made gains and losses during border skirmishes. A confident nation will allow the truths to come out and let stakeholders take the right lessons. The government must allow the book to be published instead of withholding permission and then use it at as an excuse to block discussions in Parliament.