ONE former Army Chief’s book is hanging fire for more than six months, another former Army Chief’s book, set to be launched on August 2, has been put on hold as the two publishers wait to hear from the Ministry of Defence. As reported in The Indian Express Thursday, in ‘Alone in the Ring,’ author N C Vij, Army Chief from 2002 to 2005, has written that Indian intelligence agencies “gravely failed” to detect military purchases by Pakistan in the run-up to the Kargil conflict which marks 25 years this month. In his book scheduled to be published by Bloomsbury next week, General Vij, who was Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) during the Kargil war, has also written that the R&AW – India’s foreign intelligence agency – had given an “inaccurate assessment” of the chances of a war with Pakistan. Review copies of the book were out with Amazon stating that its launch date was “around” July 20. When contacted, Krishan Chopra, Chief Editor of Bloomsbury, told The Indian Express: “A few days ago, we were asked by officials in the Army Headquarters to give the book for vetting which we have done. We had invited guests for the book’s launch on August 2 but that will be postponed now." Speaking to The Indian Express from Gurgaon, General Vij said: "Two days ago, someone from the Army called me to submit the manuscript which I have done. I retired 21 years ago and how can secrets be kept for so long? It didn't even cross my mind that I should submit my manuscript to Army before publishing since the events date so long back." There was no official response from the Army to questions sent by The Indian Express. Said Chopra: "The book by General Vij is a good one with great constructive observations by one of the finest Army chiefs and we hope we can release it very soon.” That may be easier said than done. For, 'Four Stars of Destiny,' the book by General M M Naravane, who was Army chief from 2019 to 2022, which is said to contain hitherto unknown details of the Army’s 2020 border clashes with China as well as a critical review of the Agniveer scheme, has been waiting for clearance for over six months. The Indian Express has learnt that its publishers, Penguin Random House, will not slot its release before the end of the year and on Amazon, there is a "currently unavailable" announcement for it. The manuscript, sources said, had been returned by the Ministry of Defence after “one round of changes with the back-and-forth likely to take some more time.” When contacted in Pune, General Naravane told The Indian Express that he did not want to comment on the present status of the “review’’ of his autobiography. “I have enjoyed writing this book and that is what matters. The satisfaction has come from writing it.” he said. In January 2024, when The Indian Express had first reported the vetting of his memoirs by the Army, General Naravane had said, “I have done what I had to and submitted the manuscript to the publishers many months ago. It is up to the publishers to tell whether there is a delay or not. They are the ones in touch and not expected to tell me everything.” Asked about the status of the review and the first round of changes, Penguin Random House publisher Milee Ashwarya said: “As the manuscript is under review, I have nothing to say at this stage.” Incidentally, in December 2023, “extracts” from Naravane’s memoirs were released by PTI. According to these, in the book, General Naravane referred to his conversation with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on August 31, 2020 when China was moving troops on the Line of Actual Control in the Rechin Pass area. General Naravane had written that the Defence Minister told him he had spoken to the Prime Minster and that the Army was free to take its own decisions on how to tackle the Chinese incursion. “Jo uchit samjho who karo (do what you deem is fit),” the Army Chief was told. According to the extracts, the Agniveer scheme was first discussed between him and the Prime Minister as a “short-service option at the soldier level” but was modified later. The former Army Chief wrote: “We in the Army were taken by surprise by this turn of events, but for the Navy and Air Force, it came like a bolt from the blue.” Another title announced by Penguin Random House is one written by Lt General Satish Dua who retired as Chief of Integrated Defence Staff. His forthcoming book titled “A General Reminisces: a Life Under Fire in Kashmir” too has been announced on Amazon but has the same “ currently unavailable” tag on the website. This is also under “review” by the Ministry of Defence/ Army authorities since the beginning of the year with Penguin Random House not finalizing its launch date as yet. In December 2023, General Dua had announced the pre-ordering of the book on Instagram. He described as “the true story of a terrorist turned hero” and had posted that the book would be launched in January 2024. General Dua, contacted by The Indian Express, said he did not want to comment on the reasons for delay of release of his book. It is understood that a second manuscript by him, and to be published by Harper Collins, is also with the Defence authorities, awaiting clearances. This book, is tentatively titled “Best of Braves.” Said Udayan Mitra, Executive Publisher, Harper Collins: ``General Dua’s manuscript has been sent for clearance recently and we expect it to be cleared in due course.” As per norms, serving officers of the armed forces and bureaucrats are governed by specific rules for publishing a book. However, for retired officers, the matter falls into a grey area. For instance, Section 21 of The Army Rules, 1954, states that no person under the Act shall publish in any form whatever or communicate directly or indirectly to the press any matter in relation to a political question or on a service subject or containing any service information, “or publish or cause to be published any book or letter or article or other document on such question or matter or containing such information without the prior sanction of the Central Government.” But these, sources said, may not apply to an Armed Forces personnel writing a book unrelated to his work and or of literary or artistic nature. While there are no specific rules for retired Army officers, a Defence source cited the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972, which were amended in June 2021 by the Department of Personnel and Training. The amended rules had barred retired government servants, who have served in intelligence or security-related organisations, from publishing any information related to the organisation after retirement without prior permission. While the three Defence services are not covered under these rules, retired Armed Forces personnel should also adhere to such expectations, the source said. “A top services officer is privy to a lot of confidential information. So, if they are documenting it in a book or article, it might need prior government sanction,” the source said.
