The Brave

First-hand reports of the most riveting anti-terror encounters in the wake of the 2016 surgical strikes, the men who hunted terrorists in a magical Kashmir forest where day turns to night, a pair of young Navy men who gave their all to save their entire submarine crew, the Air Force commando who wouldn't sleep until he had avenged his buddies, the tax babu who found his soul in a terrifying Special Forces assault on Pakistani terrorists, and many more. Their own stories, in their own words. Or of those who were with them in their final moments.

Kargil: Untold Stories from the War takes you into the treacherous mountains where some of the Indian Army's bloodiest battles were fought. Interviewing war survivors and martyrs' families, Rachna Bisht Rawat tells stories of extraordinary human courage, of not just men in uniform but also those who loved them the most. With its gritty stories of incomparable bravery, Kargil: Untold Stories from the War is a tribute to the 527 young braves who gave up their lives for us - and the many who were ready to do it, too.  

The Army major who led the legendary September 2016 surgical strikes on terror launch pads across the LoC; a soldier who killed 11 terrorists in 10 days; a Navy officer who sailed into a treacherous port to rescue hundreds from an exploding war; a bleeding Air Force pilot who found himself flying a jet that had become a screaming fireball...their own accounts or of those who were with them in their final moments. 

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.  

In February 1999, Pakistani Army personnel, disguised as jehadi militants, infiltrated mountainous Kargil and occupied key vantage points. Their intrusion triggered off a limited war between the world's newest nuclear states. It was a bitter battle, and one that throws up important lessons for India's defence preparedness, as also its responses to flare-ups such as this. This book is also a reminder of the unparalleled heroism that was on display during those grim weeks, heroism that has become a benchmark for bravery. 

When Bhagat Singh was executed by the British after a sham trial for his involvement in the Lahore Conspiracy Case at the age of 23, he was glorified by the Indians as a martyr for his youth, his defiance and his reckless bravery. It was only many years later, after Independence in 1947, that his writings came to light. Today, it is these that set Bhagat Singh apart and reveal him as not just a hot-headed revolutionary who believed in the cult of the bomb but a widely-read intellectual inspired by the writings of Marx and Lenin.

In the essays that comprise The Indian Army: Reminiscences, Reforms & Romance, Lieutenant General H. S. Panag examines burning questions surrounding the Indian armed forces: their exploitation by neo- nationalists; an intrusive media’s projection of the army as the sole flag bearer of patriotism; the obsession with Pakistan as an impending threat to national security; the intense militarisation of Kashmir post the abrogation of Article 370; and equal opportunities for women in combat, among other issues.  

Fifteen-year-old Maya and Arjun find their placid world suddenly overturned, when their favourite history teacher is found brutally murdered. The death shocks the students at the school and baffles the police. Meanwhile, a mysterious stranger’s reappearance after 5000 years strikes fear into the hearts of powerful members of a secret society, called the Sangha. Who is he and what is he after? What secrets are Arjun’s uncle and mother hiding, and why do they inexplicably decide to leave town for an unknown destination?

Sometime in 2016, a series of dialogues took place which set out to find a meeting ground, even if only an illusion, between A.S. Dulat and Asad Durrani. One was a former chief of RAW, India's external intelligence agency, the other of ISI, its Pakistani counterpart. As they could not meet in their home countries, the conversations, guided by journalist Aditya Sinha, took place in cities like Istanbul, Bangkok and Kathmandu.  

On 20 October 1962, high in the Himalayas, on the banks of the fast-flowing Nam Ka Chu, over 400 Indian soldiers were massacred, and the valley was overrun by soldiers of China's People's Liberation Army. Over the course of the next month, nearly 4,000 soldiers were killed on both sides, and the Indian army experienced its worst defeat ever. The conflict (war was never formally declared) ended because China announced a unilateral ceasefire on 21 November and halted its hitherto unhindered advance across NEFA and Ladakh.

In his first book, India’s Wars, Air Vice Marshal Arjun Subramaniam sought to give independent India’s military exploits up to 1971 their rightful place in history. At the same time, it was also a tribute to the valour of the men and women in olive green, white and blue. In Full Spectrum, he takes the story forward by recounting in detail how the armed forces have dealt with military conflicts, insurgencies and unconventional warfare from 1972 to the present day. 

Is there a connection between Greek and Hindu mythology? Does it have something to do with a common Indo-European root? Or maybe an exchange of ideas in the centuries that followed the arrival of Alexander the Great, when Greek emissaries travelled to the kingdoms of Mathura and Magadha? In this book, mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik turns his attention to ancient Greek tales and explores a new world of stories. Long have Europeans and Americans retold Indic mythologies. It is time for Indians to reverse the gaze.

A fitting but entirely independent sequel to Boots Belts Berets, her celebrated book about life at the National Defence Academy, On the Double follows the continuing adventures of Pessi, Maachh, Porky, Sandy and Zora as they navigate the obstacle course that is the IMA. Their love of fun breathes life into their time together, and their friendship and dare-devilry guarantees sleepless nights for their Company Commander.

There is perhaps no political figure in modern history who did more to secure and protect the Indian nation than Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The Man Who Saved India is a sweeping, magisterial retelling of Sardar Patel's story. With fiercely detailed and pugnacious anecdotes, multiple award-winning, best-selling writer Hindol Sengupta brings alive Patel's determined life of struggle and his furious commitment to keep India safe. This audiobook brings alive all the arguments, quarrels, and clashes between some of the most determined people in Indian history.

The explosive first-hand account of America's secret history in Afghanistan. With the publication of Ghost Wars, Steve Coll became not only a Pulitzer Prize winner, but also the expert on the rise of the Taliban, the emergence of Bin Laden, and the secret efforts by CIA officers and their agents to capture or kill Bin Laden in Afghanistan after 1998.