What Gen Naravane said about his unpublished book at the centre of Rahul Gandhi Vs Govt row - ‘maturing like aged wine’
General MM Naravane's memoir 'Four Stars of Destiny,' scheduled for release in 2024, becomes a focal point of debate as Rahul Gandhi attempts to reference it in Parliament. What did the former army chief say about the book?
Lok Sabha witnessed sharp verbal exchanges on Monday during the Budget Session after Leader of the Opposition in the Lower House of Parliament Rahul Gandhi sought to quote a magazine article containing excerpts from the unpublished memoir of former Army Chief MM Naravane.
Gandhi perhaps wanted to read the excerpt from the article about the 2017 Doklam stand-off with China, but could not due to continued interruptions by top Union cabinet ministers, including Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh.
The lower house was adjourned for the day even as Rahul Gandhi repeatedly sought to refer to General Naravane's controversial memoir, which is awaiting a Ministry of Defence review.
General Naravane (Retd), 65, served as India’s Chief of Army Staff from December 2019 to April 2022, including during the 2020 India-China border clashes. He took over as COAS from General Bipin Rawat on 31 December 2019.
The 2017 China–India border skirmishes, known as Doklam standoff, was a military border conlflict between the Indian Armed Forces and the People's Liberation Army of China over Chinese construction of a road in Doklam, or Donglang in Chinese – an area spread over less than a 100 sq km comprising a plateau and a valley at the trijunction between India, Bhutan and China.
The 73-day military standoff started in June 2017 when Chinese army engineers attempted to build a road through the Doklam plateau, claimed by both China and Bhutan.
How did Lok Sabha row begin?
Rahul Gandhi’s reply during the motion of thanks on the President’s Address was interrupted by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who raised concern about the fact that the Congress MP cannot quote from an unpublished book, which he said has not been authenticated.
Gandhi further said that the passage related to an incident at Doklam, when “four Chinese tanks were entering Indian territory” and attempting to take control of a ridge. He added, “The Army Chief writes, and I quote from an article that is quoting his book.”
“This is from the memoir of Army Chief Naravane. And I’d like you to listen nicely. You will understand exactly who is patriotic and who is not. It will take a little while, so this is about when four Chinese tanks were entering Indian territory. They were taking a ridge in Doklam. And the Army Chief writes, and I quote from an article that is quoting his book,” Gandhi added.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) MPs objected, arguing that the memoir had not been published and could not be quoted in the House.
What did MM Naravane say about the book?
General Naravane's memoir titled 'Four Stars of Destiny' was scheduled for publication in April 2024. The link to the book is still available on Amazon, but it shows the message “Currently unavailable. We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock.”
“From his first encounter with the Chinese as a young officer in Sikkim to dealing with them in Galwan when he was Chief, from daily incidents of firing across the LC to implementing a ceasefire with Pakistan, General Naravane takes us through his distinguished career spanning over four decades that saw him serve in all corners of the country,” the description of the book on Amazon reads. The book is being published by Penguin Books.
Extracts from the book were published by the news agency PTI in December 2023. The entire publication process was then halted pending a Ministry of Defence review.
In October last year, General MM Naravane was asked about the memoir at a literature festival in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh. General Narvane attended a session on his recently published fiction, ‘The Cantonment Conspiracy’ when an audience member asked the General about his autobiography, ‘Four Stars of Destiny.’
According to a report in the Print, General replied with his quick wit, “I think it is maturing, like aged wine. The longer it’s there, it becomes more and more vintage; of greater value.”
My job was to write the book and give it to the publishers, Gen Naravane was quoted as saying from the same event by the Indian Express. "It was the publishers who were to get the permission from the MoD. They gave it (the book) to them. It is under review. It is still under review for more than a year now,” he said.
The former Army Chief added that the publisher and the MoD are in constant contact. “So it is not for me to follow up. The ball is in the publisher’s and the MoD’s court. But I enjoyed writing the book, for better or for worse. And that’s that. It is for the MoD to give permission as and when they deem fit,” he said.
In his memoirs, the Amazon description reads, General Naravane recounts the myriad experiences that shaped his character, from his childhood to his years in the Services and beyond.
“From his first encounter with the Chinese as a young officer in Sikkim to dealing with them in Galwan when he was Chief, from daily incidents of firing across the LoC to implementing a ceasefire with Pakistan, General Naravane takes us through his distinguished career spanning over four decades that saw him serve in all corners of the country,” it reads.
This is a specialist’s take on the things that make our forces unique, particularly those that deal with the planning and conduct of operations―the raison d’être of the Army, the description says about the book.
(With agency inputs)