A Military History, 1947–1971
A Military History, 1947–1971
A sweeping account of independent India's military engagements — from the tribal raids into Kashmir in 1947 through the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971 — told by a decorated Air Force veteran who served for over three decades.
The human cost and scale of India's military history — aggregated from across the text into one visual reference.
The author's mission — four objectives for chronicling India's military history
AvailableThirty-three years of soldiering and why this book needed to be written
AvailableWhy India's military history remains absent from the larger historical discourse
AvailableTracing the colonial roots and inherited traditions of India's largest armed force
AvailableHow the post-independence army forged its own identity and fighting doctrine
AvailableFrom a modest flotilla to a blue-water force guarding India's vast coastline
AvailableThe evolution of air power and its decisive role in India's military campaigns
AvailableThe desperate airlift to Srinagar and the fight to save the Valley
AvailablePakistan's tribal offensive and India's swift military counter-response
AvailableStalemate in the mountains as both sides dig in through harsh winter
AvailableThe ceasefire, the UN intervention, and the line that became a border
AvailableThe disputed Himalayan boundary and the collapse of Hindi-Chini bhai-bhai
AvailableBorder clashes and forward-policy brinkmanship along the McMahon Line
AvailableIntelligence failures and political miscalculations on the eve of war
AvailableThe rout at NEFA and Aksai Chin — India's most painful military lesson
AvailableSkirmishes in the Rann and the escalation from border dispute to full-scale war
AvailablePakistan's covert infiltration plan and the audacious strike toward Akhnoor
AvailableTank battles at Asal Uttar and Chawinda — the largest since World War II
AvailableTashkent, lessons learned, and the rebuilding of India's military posture
AvailableThe refugee crisis, genocide in East Pakistan, and the road to intervention
AvailableSam Manekshaw's masterful preparation and the Mukti Bahini alliance
AvailableThe lightning campaign — a textbook blitzkrieg across riverine terrain
AvailableIndia's holding actions in Rajasthan and Punjab while the east was won
AvailableLongewala, Basantar, and the fierce tank duels along the western border
AvailableThe surrender at Dacca and its enduring impact on the subcontinent's psyche
AvailableAncient strategic wisdom and its relevance to modern Indian defence policy
AvailableReflections on India's strategic culture and the unfinished journey ahead
AvailableAn annotated guide to essential works on India's military history
Available