Himalayan Blunder: The Curtain-Raiser to the Sino-Indian War of 1962 (Book review)

                             The author, Brigadier J.P.Dalvi was the commander of 7th Infantry Brigade in the North-East Frontier Agency Sector of Tawang. The 7th Brigade was destroyed, and  Brigadier J.P.Dalvi was captured by the Chinese Forces on 22nd October and repatriated in May 4,1963. This book is the memoir of the author, the first hand account, the real story of the biggest blunder in Indian military history. The book was banned in Indian almost immediately on its release as it pointed to the loopholes in establishment, flawed foreign policy, lackadaisical military preparations etc, however this ban was later lifted.

                            Himalayan Blunder is a fascinating war memoir of the 1962 Conflict between India and China in which India was humbled by Chinese onslaught. It was the watershed moment in Indian History when many political stalwarts who were living in their fancy lands had to bite dust. Such was the eye popping, hollow self confidence displayed by the morality preaching superstar politicians, that Chinese were also amazed by their naive foolishness. Although by the time this war ended, the rockstar politicians were begging for arms and armaments in front of same countries towards whom they showed scanty respect and were the target of their ire at international forums. The Indian military establishment on its part, didn't show the spine to stand firm against ever increasing public pressure and incompetent politicians. The result was, the ill prepared Indian army was thrown as cannon fodder before well oiled Dragon juggernaut.

                      Himalayan Blunder showed the treason with nation and people behind the debacle of 1962 Indo-China war. This book is the first hand account of what transpired during and after the period,as the writer dwells deeply into the circumstances which culminated in this humiliating defeat. The writer categorically reasoned, what  happens when an  ill-equipped, unprepared, confused, demoralized yet fiercely brave and patriotic soldiers were rushed into battle field against a strong adversary in an ad hoc manner because military decisions were influenced more by political prophecy rather than military strategy.

                   This book is a masterpiece and i recommend it to all. Besides being illuminating, the writer with his witty style captivates the reader. Brigadier J.P.Dalvi narrated the story and asked pertinent questions which needs to be answered honestly if we have to avoid risking falling into the similar trap again.

My Angel

Dear Aaruni,

My love Aaruni, its been over two months when fate fiddled around nastily and snatched you away from us, since then, life has never been same again. You came to my life as a miracle, showering blessings, a ray of divine hope after prolonged darkness. You were like sweet nectar to my parched soul, first droplets of rainwater embracing gasping Earth.

It still feels like yesterday, when i firstly took you in my arms, cuddled you. You were so little, opened your eyes and smiled and i felt complete, the most beautiful day of my life. I must confess my baby, i hadn't seen a more beautiful wonder before. You had this magic power of weeding out my sorrows, agony, all my failures vanished hearing your chirpy voice. Your voice made me call you my little birdy. I was mesmerized at times, by your sweet innocent gestures making me stand in awe. There had been moments when i feel happy and privileged just by looking at you while you were sleeping .

Gradually you started growing and as you embarked on the journey learning new things, i felt like a proud father. I must acknowledge i was frightened from the beginning for you, even decried the idea of giving solid diet lest you grow up, but you allayed all my fears making me confident of things i couldn't foresee that eventually extracted heavy price. As you started crawling and then waking, it use to make me nostalgic. I missed every moment, embraced every second, as i had the pleasure to grow alongside you.  This complacency made me foolish into believing in destiny taking turn for good, and went along as it fiddled with me, only to wake up from slumber by rude jolt. It has been nightmarish ever since.

I sit in silence sometimes and try to feel the plants that waved at you, birds on lemon tree that you chatted with, pigeon still come in verandah looking for you. Your water tub lay idle, and so are your toys😥.The void created by your loss, the damage incurred is irreparable but soon I discovered, no matter how great my loss was or how deep my grief, the world does not stop. Some people tried sharing pain, some tried to walk along, everyone tried their bit to comfort us in their own way but this misery doesn't subside. On my part, i tried many tricks but futile. I am still struggling relentlessly to come to terms with reality and is learning to live with my loss. Sometimes, i feel my pain is visible to others and i employ ways to deflect attention from my grief.

I have learnt that love never diminishes rather it grows with time. I used to believe the cliché that everything happens for a reason, it is part of God's plan and just need to have faith in him, your loss however made me question this belief. Although a part of me died on that dreaded day of April,time continues to tickle and we carry on with our responsibilities, but it would never be same again. I carried you in my mind while u were still in your mothers belly, and been carrying you in my heart the day you came to this world and will always be part of me till my last breath.

I often ask myself why you had to leave me? I could have held you forever, and I guess in some ways I always will, only just in my heart and not my arms.I don't know if i will ever be able to absolve myself of this unknown guilt that i wasn't with you when you needed me the most. I couldn't save you, had it been possible would have begged almighty to take me along with you.My story continues although your chapter ended, but I will carry you to the end of my book of life.

I will always be your Papa and you my little angel, will cherish every moment we were together.

99 Unforgettable Khushwant Singh - Review

                                  This book is a collection of 99 selected stories both from fictional and nonfictional genres, printed over a period of time. The 99 chapters represents 99 years of this dynamic writer's life, starting from his birth at Hadali in Pakistan till he passed away in 2014, at the age of 99 years in Delhi, the city he adored. The book has many stories from his personal life, his family and friends. One intriguing  thing is the dilemma the writer always finds himself in, is about religion. He brazenly talks about being an atheist but doesn't shied away from praying, which is strange and self contradictory. He argues about his non compromising attitude towards growing communalism in the country as he himself has witnessed the horrors of partition.

                                     The book showcases the versatility and vast knowledge of the Khuswant Singh. He openly reasons about the circumstances for the creation of Pakistan, dives further to reveal the juicy gossips and weaknesses of Pakistan as it seems, he has unlimited access to important dignitaries there. He had a long carrier as a journalist in India and book contains many political encounters of his time. He was biased towards Congress and shamelessly supports it while propagating high morals to others. He was strong witted and didn't shy away from chiding Khalistan terrorists. The writer also dwells on his personal life touching sensitive subjects of sex, unfaithfulness,humor etc. 

This book is a  wonderful collection of various topics about author's life, a colorful tribute to one of the finest writers of India, which was published on the anniversary of Khushwant Singh’s birth. I believe this book is thought provoking and a must read for everyone.

Image courtesy- Google images

Readers can write to me at - garv560@gmail.com

Slaves - Part 2

                                    Experience has shown that the developing countries are forced by circumstances to do what suits the developed countries most. Rivalries between poor countries are exploited and in order as to defend themselves, poor countries resort to buying modern weapons from the developed countries, thus redirecting their precious resources from development work to indulging in arms race much to the benefit of developed countries .

                                    Some ideas which were popular soon after the Second world war (1939-45) are not valid in practice. It was inferred that the highly industrialized countries, or the developed world, would serve as a "bank" from which capital, skills,technology and management could be transferred through "aid which could raise life to a better quality in the developing countries. It was the general belief among scientists that modem science and technology could flow freely to our developing countries for the benefit of our people. These ideas or premises have been found to be largely invalid. Much to the displeasure of developing countries bottlenecks are created to stifle their growth. Developed countries shy away from sharing advanced technology or simply makes it too expensive even in areas where they are morally and ethically bound like environment sector. Trade secrets, patent laws are methods employed to maintain supremacy .

                                 The developed world thus has succeeded to subvert the growth of political unity among ex-colonies through multiple techniques. In their zeal to guard their interests they have manufactured crisis among different nations. They have successfully manipulated world opinions sometimes through discreet organizations. There are many Western institutes that provide assistance and helped immensely in continuous Western hegemony like the Bretton Woods Institutions, the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and United Nations (UN), the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

                                Without any regard for international institutions that they themselves created and propagate sacrosanct , the club of developed countries have often taken unilateral decisions to punish alleged rogue nation that refuses to toe their line. The shameless conduct has till now butchered millions, maimed many more and toppled regimes world over. The US intervention in Guatemala for fixing wages in 1954 to toppling regimes of Saddam and Kadafi in Libya, killing countless is testimony to the ruthless and mind numbing use of violence by them to shamelessly exploit the weak while maintaining their hegemony in world.

                                      Almost always the SOP (Standard operating procedure) followed by the club is same. In the garb of protecting human rights or protecting the world from WMD’s or similar frivolous accusations they impose economic sanctions often with UN assistance. Through coercion or allurement smaller nations that were former colonies were enticed to support the cause and weaken and segregate target nation. Meantime the all powerful Western media peddles lies thus influences and create public opinion world over. After choking economy of targeted nation, the final act of active Military intervention snuffs the target while club swears victory.

                                  Nothing has changed In the last few centuries and as long as developing countries are divided on flimsy grounds, till they don’t learn to settle disputes in a civilized manner rather then resorting to bloodshed, they will continue to be economically and technologically laggards. They will continue to divert resources for war and thus play puppets in the hands of developed nations. The situation is challenging and the future is bleak as the tyrants are resourceful .