New Delhi: Former Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane’s claims in an unpublished book on one of the most delicate moments during the India-China military standoff in eastern Ladakh that allegedly brought rival armies to the brink of a shooting war in August 2020 created a political stir on Monday, with Lok Sabha leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi attempting to mention the events detailed in the memoir in the Lower House and the government strongly objecting to it. The book has not been published.
Gandhi was referring to excerpts from the former chief’s yet-to-be-released autobiography Four Stars of Destiny, which was published in The Caravan magazine on Sunday in an article titled Naravane’s Moment of Truth. The strapline read: “An army chief’s unpublished memoir reveals how Modi government led to China border crisis”.
Naravane’s account of the developments on the Kailash Range on the southern bank of Pangong Tso on August 31, 2020, and the alleged lack of immediate political direction on how the Indian Army should respond to Chinese provocations are at the center of the controversy.
The book was scheduled to be released in January 2024, but was put on hold by the Defense Ministry because the author did not take the necessary clearance before writing about sensitive operational matters, especially when the standoff was ongoing.
Naravane did not respond to HT’s phone calls and text messages. However, in October 2025, he said that the book was still under review by the Defense Ministry.
The government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) responded to Gandhi’s attempt to raise the issue by citing the 1962 war with China, in which India had ceded territory (and which was fought when the Congress was in charge), and by pointing to Naravane’s candid comments after the standoff that China had not occupied any Indian territory.
Gandhi’s repeated attempts to raise the issue eventually led to the House being adjourned for the day. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla cited two rules, 349 and 353, to prevent Gandhi from quoting from the book. Birla cited Rule 349 which says, “When the House is in session, no member shall read any book, newspaper or paper except in connection with the business of the House…” Rule 353 says, “No charge of a defamatory or discriminatory nature shall be made by any member against any person unless the member has given sufficient advance notice to the Speaker and the Minister concerned to enable the Minister to investigate the matter for the purpose of reply: Provided that the Speaker may at any time If the Speaker is of the opinion that such allegation is derogatory to the dignity of the House or no public interest is served by making such allegation, prevent any member from making any such allegation.
The 39-page Caravan article highlights Naravane’s dilemma on how to respond to some aggressive Chinese maneuvers near the Kailash Range on the night of August 31, in the alleged absence of clear direction from the Indian political leadership. According to the article, Lieutenant General YK Joshi, the Northern Army commander at that time, had alerted Naravane over the phone at 8.15 pm about the Chinese advance.
“Four Chinese tanks, supported by infantry, had begun moving up a steep mountain track towards Rechin La in eastern Ladakh… The tanks were within a few hundred meters of Indian positions on the Kailash Range, the strategic high ground that Indian forces had seized a few hours earlier, in a dangerous race with China’s People’s Liberation Army,” it said, citing his memoir.
Gandhi mentioned four tanks in the Lok Sabha but mistakenly mentioned Doklam as the place of action.
Naravane was the Army Chief from December 31, 2019 to April 30, 2022 — a period of increased military activity in eastern Ladakh in the backdrop of the standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
“The Chinese continued to advance. Naravane began calling leaders of India’s political and military establishment, including Defense Minister Rajnath Singh; National Security Advisor Ajit Doval; Chief of Defense Staff Gen. Bipin Rawat; and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. “My question to everyone was, ‘What are my orders?’ “The article states that the situation is worsening dramatically and demands clarity,” Naravane writes in his yet-unpublished memoir, Four Stars of Destiny.
Certainly, the Indian Army’s lightning capture of strategic heights on the southern bank of Pangong Tso on the night of August 29, 2020 surprised the Chinese PLA, emboldened it (the Indian Army) in the subsequent military talks and ultimately paved the way for the first and crucial round of withdrawal of rival troops and weapons from the Pangong Tso sector in eastern Ladakh, as first reported by HT.
The bold moves on the Kailash Range and other heights on the southern coast were a game changer and the balance tilted in favor of the Indian Army for the first time months after the border dispute erupted in April-May 2020. The PLA did not expect Indian forces to take control of the southern heights, while the entire focus was on developments on the northern bank, where the Chinese had infiltrated into Indian territory and captured Finger 4, bypassing Indian deployments.
The Caravan article stated that Naravane had clear orders not to fire “until it was clear from above”.
“His superiors did not give any clear instructions. Minutes passed. At 9.10 pm, Joshi called again. The Chinese tanks continued to advance and were now less than a kilometer from the pass. At 9.25 pm, Naravane again called Rajnath and ‘asked for clear directions.’ No one came,” the article claimed.
It further said that Naravane made another call to the Defense Minister, who promised to call back. “Time dragged on. Every minute was about a minute before the Chinese tanks reached the top. At 10.30 pm Rajnath called back. He had spoken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose instructions contained one sentence. ‘Jo bhot samjho, woh karo’ — do whatever you deem appropriate.”
According to HT report, the Indian Army had captured several strategic heights on the midnight of August 29, 2020, to prevent the PLA from capturing Indian territory on the southern bank of Pangong Tso. In quick follow-up, which threw the PLA off balance, the Indian Army took its front-line tanks and infantry combat vehicles (ICVs) held by its troops to new heights. The Indian Army’s control of ridgeline positions on the southern coast allowed it to completely dominate the region and keep an eye on Chinese military activity.
However, the essay brings forward Naravane’s plight on 31 August. “‘I was given a hot potato,'” Naravane recalls in his memoir, according to the article. “With this carte blanche (given by the PM), the responsibility was now completely on me.”
India and China completed the disengagement process in the Pangong Tso area in mid-February 2021, with their armies pulling back forward deployed troops, tanks, ICVs and artillery from strategic heights where rival troops exchanged fire along the LAC for the first time in 2020. The last incident of firing along the LAC occurred in October 1975, when the PLA ambushed and opened fire on an Indian patrol in the Tulung La sector of Arunachal Pradesh. Four soldiers died.
The situation on both sides of Pangong Tso was extremely tense before the withdrawal of troops, with Joshi admitting in February 2021 that India and China were on the verge of war after the action on the southern bank.
Naravane had earlier created a stir by revealing that the Agneepath plan had taken the Army by surprise and was a surprise blow to the Air Force and Navy. His views on the plan for short-term recruitment of troops were revealed in excerpts from his autobiography reviewed by news agency PTI in December 2023. Excerpts revealed that Naravane briefed the Prime Minister about the ‘Tour of Duty’ plan for short-term recruitment of soldiers in the Army in early 2020, but months later the PMO came up with a formulation with a broader scope to include all three services.
In Parliament, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said: We have to decide what to do with the member who does not want to comply with the decision. You (Rahul Gandhi) should teach others… You are a five-time MP.
Outside Parliament, Gandhi said: It is inconvenient for the Defense Minister (Rajnath Singh) and the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi), I understand… If it was not inconvenient, they would have allowed me to speak.
memoir in limbo
General Naravane’s 448-page autobiography Four Stars of Destiny was to be released by Penguin Random House India in January 2024, but it was blocked by the Defense Ministry because the author did not take the necessary clearance before writing about sensitive operational matters, especially when the India-China military standoff was ongoing.
Naravane was the Army Chief from December 31, 2019, to April 30, 2022 – a period of increased military activity in eastern Ladakh in the backdrop of the standoff along the disputed LAC. His description of the developments on August 31, 2020, at the Kailash Range on the southern bank of Pangong Tso and the alleged lack of immediate political direction on how the Indian Army should respond to Chinese provocations are at the center of the controversy.
Criteria for Withdrawal
The manuscript of any book that contains sensitive operational details must be approved by the Army’s Additional Directorate General of Strategic Communications before it is published. This wing comes under the Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Strategy).
Depending on the content, the Additional Directorate General of Strategic Communications may send the manuscript for examination to relevant directorates, including those dealing with military operations and military intelligence. A book can be published only after such approval.
In the case of Naravane’s book, the manuscript was not submitted to the Additional Directorate General of Strategic Communications for the necessary approval. After some controversial excerpts were published in December 2023, the Defense Ministry wrote to Naravane and the publisher to submit the book for Army approval before publishing it. The Army read the book in detail, recorded its comments on the topics covered in it and sent it to the Defense Ministry to take a final decision. The Defense Ministry has not yet given its approval to the former chief’s book.
