BOOKS OF THE WEEK

General Brasstacks: The Sundarji Story 

by Probal DasGupta 

ABOUT THE BOOK

In 1986, as Indian and Chinese troops faced off in Sumdorong Chu in Arunachal Pradesh, an Indian general airlifted a brigade to occupy dominating heights, putting pressure on the Chinese below. The audacious General Krishnaswamy Sundarji swung the momentum decisively in India’s favour, forcing the Chinese to back-pedal in the Himalayas.

The following year, the same army chief planned Operation Brasstacks, one of the largest military exercises since World War II. The move threatened Pakistan’s nuclear ambitions, unnerving General

Zia-ul-Haq and prompting him to seek rapprochement.

The 1980s were a decade of dramatic turns: events that led to the assassinations of two Indian prime ministers, political upheaval and military crises. General Sundarji oversaw two of the most controversial operations in independent India: Operation Blue Star, against Sikh militants inside the Golden Temple, and Operation Pawan, against Tamil militants in Sri Lanka. He was also drawn into the Bofors acquisition and the scandal that followed, which helped bring down a government.

ut who was Krishnaswamy Sundarji? How did his penchant for bold, sometimes brash decisions take shape? Was he too ambitious? Was he ahead of his time in pushing for technology-driven warfare, or behind it as insurgencies demanded a more improvised approach?

This definitive biography by bestselling author Probal Dasgupta traces the life and times of one of India’s most charismatic yet forgotten army chiefs. Sundarji’s career mirrored the journey of a young nation, often echoing its political choices and contradictions. The only general to have influenced both military and political thinking in India’s democracy, his brisk 820-day tenure saw the army through modernization, crises, controversies and change. This book explores Sundarji’s central role in shaping the modern Indian Army and his influence during the turbulent 1980s.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Probal DasGupta is an author, historian and columnist. He is the author of the bestselling book - Watershed 1967: India’s Forgotten Victory Over China’ and ‘Camouflaged: Forgotten Stories from Battlefields.

An alumnus of Columbia University in New York (USA), Probal is a Braun-Myers Fellow, JN Tata Scholar and RD Sethna Scholar. He served with Gorkha Rifles in the Indian Army before transitioning into a business leader. Probal headed up global consulting firms in South Asia and is the founder of Birdstone - advisors to firms on investment risks, governance and reputation.

A corporate speaker on geopolitics and history, he writes a column in the media and is the founder of a literature festival. Probal lives in Mumbai with his wife Nisha and has two children – Siddharth and Arayna.

********************************************************

********************************************************

www.ebdbooks.com

Our mail order service ships books in India and Overseas

Email: sales@ebd.in, Phone: +91 135 2655192

A Place of Familiarity

I have always believed that some places become part of people’s stories without even trying to.

I met a couple from Roorkee who came all the way to Dehradun for their pre-wedding shoot. It made me curious, why travel for a bookstore when there are endless locations to choose from? Especially when they themselves own a cafe in Roorkee, a beautiful space they could have easily chosen instead.

But their reason was simple.

They used to come here together.

Long before wedding planning entered the picture, before responsibilities and routines settled in, this bookstore had quietly become a part of their time together. During visits to Dehradun, they would stop by, browse books, spend time, and make memories, probably without realising that one day they would return here for something as special as a pre-wedding shoot.

In a time where pre-wedding shoots are often about destinations or themes, there was something incredibly meaningful about choosing familiarity. They picked this place because it already existed in their story.

Watching them return to the same shelves, the same corners they once casually walked through, felt like witnessing something much bigger than photographs being taken. It felt like a memory coming full circle.

This also made me think about what legacy really means for a place like The English Book Depot - becoming part of people’s lives in different ways.

For this couple, the bookstore was never just a bookstore. It quietly held a part of their story.

And perhaps that is what makes places stay relevant across generations, not only what they offer, but what people attach to them over time.

Some people visit for books.

Some come back for memories. And sometimes, both become the same thing.

-Sneha

BOOKS OF THE WEEK

 Choices: Inside the Making of Indian Foreign Policy by Shivshankar Menon 

ABOUT THE BOOK

Shivshankar Menon gives an insider's account of the negotiations, discussions and assessments that went into the making of five pivotal choices in India's recent history. These include the decision not to use overt military force against Pakistan after 26/11; the civil nuclear deal with the United States; the border agreement with China; the response to the last months of Sri Lanka's brutal civil war; and the thinking that underlay India's No First Use nuclear policy.

Drawing on his long and distinguished career as a diplomat holding critical positions in India's external affairs ministry and in the prime minister's office, Menon considers each situation against the backdrop of India's evolving definition of her place in the changing global landscape. He brings out the history, politics and principles involved, while examining and dissecting the reasons for the outcome.

Analytical, lucid and illuminating, Choices is an unmatched insight into the intellectual heft of foreign policy decision-making by one of India's most formidable diplomatic practitioners who was actively engaged in these five defining moments.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Shivshankar Menon is a former Foreign Secretary of India and was National Security Advisor to prime minister Manmohan Singh. He is the author of Choices: Inside the Making of Indian Foreign Policy (Penguin, 2016).

&&&&&&&&&&&

&&&&&&&&&&&

www.ebdbooks.com

Our mail order service ships books in India and Overseas

Email: sales@ebd.in, Phone: +91 135 2655192