A Military History of India since 1972 is a definitive work of military history that gives the Indian military its rightful place as a key contributor to Indian democracy. Arjun Subramaniam offers an engaging narrative that combines superb storytelling with the academic rigor of deep research and analysis. It is a comprehensive account of India’s resolute, responsible, and restrained use of force as an instrument of statecraft and how the military has played an essential role in s...

India’s armed forces play a key role in protecting the country and occupy a special place in the Indian people’s hearts, yet standard accounts of contemporary Indian history rarely have a military dimension. In India’s Wars, serving Air Vice Marshal Arjun Subramaniam seeks to rectify that oversight by giving India’s military exploits their rightful place in history. Subramaniam begins India’s Wars with a frank call to reinvigorate the study of military history as part of ...

In 2009, the Sri Lankan government forces literally eradicated the Tamil Tiger insurgency after 26 years of civil war. This was the first time that a government had defeated an indigenous insurgency by force of arms. It was as if the British army killed thousands of IRA cadres to end the war in Northern Ireland. The story of this war is fascinating in itself, besides the international repercussions for terrorism and insurgency worldwide. Many countries involved themselves in the war to arm...

In February 1999, Pakistani Army personnel, disguised as jihadi militants, infiltrated into mountainous Kargil and occupied key vantage points. Their intrusion triggered a limited war between the world's newest nuclear states. It was a bitter battle, and one that threw up important lessons for India's defence preparedness, as also its responses to conflicts such as this. This incisive book by General V.P. Malik, former Chief of the Army Staff, analyses the reasoning behind the Pakistani Ar...

The scope of this study of the Pakistan Army must be wide and in-depth, as the army has played a major part in the country’s history. The author describes Pakistan’s violent internal politics and erratic international relations with a deep knowledge gained through his long association with the country and its armed forces. Pakistan’s wars with India are covered vividly, drawing on unpublished material and details from Indian as well as Pakistani sources. The country’s resurrection under Zu...

Operation Cactus was a unique mission for the Indian Army. Within hours of receiving an appeal for assistance from the Government of Maldives, Indian troops rescued President Abdul Gayoom and foiled a coup detat attempt by rebel forces led by Abdullah Luthufi and assisted by the Tamil secessionist group from Sri Lanka, the People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE). On the notice of a few hours, the Indian military put together a strong task force that flew non-stop over 3,000...

An under-strength Gorkha battalion undertakes the Indian Army's first heliborne operation deep behind enemy lines, defeating a Pakistani force twenty times its strength. Fighters of the Indian Air force target the Government House in Dhaka in a daring air raid, forcing the Pakistani government in Dhaka to capitulate and surrender. Four battle casualties become close friends at the Artificial Limb Centre in Pune in the war's aftermath. In this collection of true stories, decorated war veter...

The uprising in Libya in the spring of 2011 took the world by surprise. The Gaddafi regimes brutal attempts at suppressing the uprising, however, soon prompted the international community to respond. NATO agreed to impose a no-fly zone across Libya, which was led by Britain, France and the USA.For the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, the deployment of RAF and Royal Navy assets in support of UN Resolution 1973, came at a time when severe cuts to the UKs defense spending were in the pr...

Jews who have made India their home have flourished without adverse discrimination. Of this, the Baghdadi Sephardic community is very small in number but has produced one of India's greatest contemporary soldiers, Lt Gen. Jack Jacob. This is his fascinating story. As a small boy, Jacob, who was from a business family, was sent to a residential public school in Darjeeling along with his two brothers. When the Second World War broke out, Jacob without informing his family joined the army in ...

The past 2000 years witnessed the downfall and slavery of Hindus. They went on bending the knee to Greeks, Shakes, Huns, Arabs, Mughals, Turks, French and British down the ages. They even showed their backs to a handful of Abysinians and Slaves in the battlefield and rubbed their nose on their doormats.Hindus are proud of their glorious past and valour. They never tire of harping about their culture and unbeatable in human history. But, in reality, what is the truth? Whether their c...

Ask anyone from India about Jammu and Kashmir, and he or she will tell you it is the home of spirituality. Its a beautiful place blessed by the gods with beautiful rivers, calm lakes, picturesque waterfalls, and cypress trees. Its famous for its ancient Mughal heritage and Hindu shrines. But toady these places are in news for something else: Islamic extremistsespecially those operating from Pakistancontinue to terrorize residents, visitors and spreading militancy in region. Azad Singh Rath...

A book on India's defence and military diplomacy from a Chief of the Indian Army General V.P. Malik, Chief of the Indian Army from 1 October 1997 to 30 September 2000, writes about his experiences in the field and important strategic events in which he was involved during his service. He has focused on decision-making processes that were followed at the political and military strategic levels as well as at the operational level. In India, such important decisions are seldom recorded in det...