By Dr. Gyan Pathak
Union Government of India led by PM Narendra Modi has been clearly suppressing the truth about what happened on Indo-China border during China’s aggression on India in 2020 in Ladakh. Many details might be secret and may not be strategically correct to reveal them, but then the nation has right to know what India’s political and Defence leadership respectively did. The only way to know these was the Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane’s autobiography “Four Starts of Destiny” which was printed and was being sold on the online bookstores, before it was officially declared to be published, for which the publisher was waiting for an approval by the Ministry of Defence, which was never given.
In the meantime, the book landed in the hands of the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, who raised the issue of PM Narendra Modi’s political response to the crisis alleging that the government actually spun the crisis, and their decisions were against the national interest of India. Rahul Gandhi tried to raise the issue in the Parliament, but he was not allowed to mention the book, which according the government was “unpublished”. Rahul Gandhi showed the copy of the book to the media in the premises of the Parliament and said that had PM Narendra Modi come, he would have gifted it to him.
Government may be technically correct when we try to understand the meaning of “unpublished”. You can’t undo something that you did not do. In the same breath you can’t say the book is “unpublished” if it had never been “published”. “Not Published” status of a book is quite different. In the book industry, books are sent to distributors and shops after printing, and these were sold after the publisher formally announce its publication. Right from the time of “official announcement” the book is sold. Here a publisher, for whatsoever reason, can “unpublish” and “recall” a book from the market.
The book was in the market is a fact, that anyone can check from online stores across the world, but not in India now. It was available in Amazon’s India online store, but Government has managed it to be withdrawn from there now, and on can’t now find it there. A case against the Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi is being made, how he got this “unpublished” book, while he has said that it was available on Amazon’s shop, and he was right. On can see the book in Amazon’s store in foreign countries such as on amazon.com (of USA), and amazon.co.uk (of UK).
The Amazon’s USA and UK store shows the image of the book. On can find in the amazon.com written “Four Stars of Destiny (An Autobiography) Hardcover – May 1, 2024, by Manoj Mukund Naravane (Author)”. On the amazon.co.uk text is “Four Stars of Destiny: An Autobiography, Hardcover – 31, May 2024.” Both the stores clearly show the publication date.
Nevertheless, the copies of the book are categorized as “currently unavailable” and when you will click on “See Option” button you will land on a page that says “We don’t know when or if this item will be back in stock.” Not only that the US Amazon website contains a user review which says, “Looks like Amazon chickened out and withdrew copies that were being sold internationally before the Ministry of Defense, India approved it for publication. Now there is litigation in India on this pre-approved distribution by Penguin and Amazon………this spells trouble for both and the disgruntled General.”
Amazon website clearly shows the date of publication, and hence Amazon is a witness to the publication of the book which also contains ISBN numbers. On Amazon US the product description is “Publisher : Penguin Veer, Publication date : May 1, 2024, Language : English, Print length : 448 pages, ISBN-10 : 0670099759, ISBN-13 : 978-0670099757, Item Weight : 1.43 pounds, and Dimensions : 8.46 x 5.51 x 1.14 inches.”
However, in the Lok Sabha, when Rahul Gandhi wanted to quote from the book, using a published article to raise questions about how the government handled the 2020 India China border standoff, BJP leaders including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, strongly objected to his references. They argued that unpublished material – especially involving defence matters – cannot be quoted in Parliament and that the book was not officially available. Their statement were based on two things – first Defence Ministry was yet to give approval for publication, a requirement for military memoirs involving sensitive details, and secondly that it was not “officially available”. They emphasized the book did not exist, which was not correct, and which was misleading to the parliament violating parliamentary privilege of the members of the House. De facto position was that we have now proof that the book was printed, published, and sold without the approval of the Ministry of Defence. BJP leaders admission in the parliament that the book was not “officially available” is also an indirect admission of the de facto position of the book, that actually existed.
Then the Speaker of the Lok Sabha cited parliamentary rules (such as Rule 349) to block further debate on the matter and prevent reading form “unpublished sources”. However, it was factually wrong, since online stores along with the book contain date of publication and ISBN numbers.
Parliamentary proceedings were then repeatedly disrupted and the House was adjourned due to protest by opposition MPs who were protesting against not allowing LoP Rahul Gandhi to speak and quote on the issue. Rahul Gandhi had even authenticated the content of the book, so that he can read excerpts in the Parliament, but he was not allowed. Protests led to suspension of eight MPs, 7 from the Congress and one from the CPI (M). Rahul Gandhi and other opposition MPs protested outside Parliament, accusing the ruling side of stifling the debate. Rahul Gandhi accused the government of fearing the book’s contents.
General Naravane himself and the publisher have since been drawn into the controversy, with the former army chief responding publicly and publishers clarifying the status of the book. Both, presumably to save themselves, from any trouble from the Modi government, on whose direction Delhi Police have registered and FIR, and probing how and unpublished book landed in the hands of the LoP Rahul Gandhi.
The publisher Penguin Random House India has made a statement that it holds the exclusive publishing rights to former Army chief Manoj Mukund Naravane’s memoir Four Stars of Destiny and that the book has not yet been published. The publisher’s statement came after the Delhi Police registered an FIR and launched a probe into the alleged illegal circulation of the book. The case has reportedly been handed to the Special Cell for detailed investigation into a possible leak or breach involving the “unpublished” work. The publisher has clearly lied since they have themselves circulated to book to online and offline distributors, or were selling the books online, and one can see the proof online. However, the published said it has the sole rights holder for the memoir and stressed that no authorised version has been released to the public. “We hold the sole publishing rights for the book Four Stars of Destiny, a memoir by General Manoj Mukund Naravane, former Chief of the Indian Army. We wish to make it clear that the book has not gone into publication,” the publisher said. The publisher also said that no copies, in print of digital form, have been published, distributed, sold, or otherwise made available by the publisher, while saying its unauthorised circulation would constitute copyright infringement.
General Naravane also made a statement on February 10, a day after the FIR, on the social media platform X under the title “This is the status of the book” and put under it the Penguin India’s stamen.
Now the entire question has shifted from what was the truth of the Modi government’s response to China’s aggression to whether the book was “published”, “unpublished”, or “not published”, and what was illegality involved in reaching the copy of the book to LoP Rahul Gandhi. It is just like beating about the bush, and suppressing the truth of national importance. It is also possible that the government may put some people behind the bar. But what about the truth?
In the description of the book, the publisher has printed, and which is available online it is written, “General Naravane has written a simple and heart-warming account of his life and times and the experiences that shaped his character, right from childhood to his years in the service, rising through the hierarchy to become the twenty-eighth Chief of the Indian Army.”
“The book sheds light on the workings of the Army, its culture and ethos that make it the finest army in the world. … It also covers many aspects for those interested in matters military, ranging from the decision-making apparatus at various echelons of the government to what needs to be done to make not just the Army, but the Armed Forces as a whole, a more potent instrument of national power, ready to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century.”
Whether the book is legally published or not, it was de facto printed, published, distributed and sold. However, the real question needs to be answered, what happened during China aggression, and what was the political response of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The nation has right to know the truth, and General Naravane’s words must not be stifled by not approving his book. Citizens must be given chance to have their own opinion based on the witness account of the crisis from the horse’s mouth, that is from the former Army Chief of India. (IPA Service)
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