Based on a true story, this gripping account will leave you spell-bound

COMMANDOS. Those elite troops for whom nothing is impossible. A special breed of soldiers who walk dangerously and believe that “Who Dares, Wins”. Real-life action heroes who plunge into situations normally confined to celluloid. It is these men who form the cutting edge of real-life war games. Men whom Winston Churchill once described as “mad, quite mad...(but) in war there is often a place for mad people who bring glory at all costs.” This action-packed book tells the story of Special Forces worldwide and examines these forces. How are they organised, trained and equipped? What are the tasks they carry out in combat? How do they operate in the battlefield? What is their role in countering terrorism? What will be their role in the context of future warfare? Tracing the history of raids and rescue missions from the raid on Somnath Temple by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1025 to those of Shivaji on the Mughals in 1663, it goes on to describe the rescue of Mussolini from Italy, Israeli hostages from Entebbe Airport and killing of Osama. Detailed descriptions and analysis of Second World War raids as well as the Indian Army commando action against the terrorists in Jammu & Kashmir and Mumbai demonstrate the daring of the men who constitute the Special Forces today. With these modern-day Otto Skorzenys and David Stirlings at large, no citadel is secure enough, no army safe from penetration. Terrorism looms large as a major threat today to free societies of the world. It is a cheaper method of waging a war. The only way the world can cope effectively with this threat is by cooperating internationally against it. Illustrated throughout, The Killer Instinct is a highly readable account of past raids and rescues, terrorism and the face of war in the new millennium.

This book, as a part of a series of literary works that, together cover the whole expanse of the 1947-48 conflict, focuses primarily on the Kishanganga (also referred to as Kishenganga) Valley (and Northern Kashmir as a stepping stone to the said vale). As the readers would know and realise, the bow-shaped river basin of Kishanganga (KG) River provided depth and a huge geographical cushion to the Kashmir Valley during those fateful days. If we were, hypothetically, to take out Kishanganga Valley from the map for a while, the vulnerability of Kashmir Valley and Ladakh region would stand out, needing no further aggrandizement. The KG valley with steep gorges, fast-flowing streams and the KG River, was a tough terrain to evict the well-entrenched enemy from, i.e., after the presence of such elements had been discovered or reported many months after the commencement of the conflict. Post recapture, the extended frontages that the defenders then had to hold against a numerically superior, well-supplied enemy, turned out to be a tactician’s nightmare. When we factor in the realities like lack of an air strip, lack of motorable roads and highly erratic supply lines, the challenges that Indian forces faced in the KG Valley, become apparent. It was, definitely, not a mean task to first throw the invaders out of the river basin and then hold the long stretch of the formidable mountainous terrain with just a handful of troops. As a result, many stretches were re-occupied by the enemy even after Indian troops had evicted them from such areas during the course of the conflict. The KG Valley, incidentally, sat in the middle of two secret plans, Operation Gulmarg (Kashmir and Jammu region) and Operation Datta Khel (Gilgit area), being put into action by Pakistan at that time. And unlike elsewhere, regular troops faced Indian troops from the very beginning of operations in and around the Tithwal area.

Third book in the series of personal memoirs of war veterans of IPKF/OPERATION PAWAN in Sri Lanka

From the desk of the Author: My families have for four generations lived, served, worked, loved and been born in India. Ancestors served with great distinction. I am the very last of them. Now I sit at my desk and think back to last year’s two months in India journeying through four states, or the previous year’s experiences, or the year before. We have had the good fortune to return to India for varying lengths of time and each occasion provided a wealth of experiences – mostly good – sometimes challenging! This last 20 years of travelling has encompassed the length and breadth of India to its very tip. There is always something that has not yet been seen, or returned to, new places or restored places - and sadly some places that were better left in the distant past. Generally, however India repays close inspection and the approach must always be cup half full. Then, undoubtedly in some strange way, the cup will fill up with rich experiences, beautiful memories and interactions. The people are so important, be they professionals, hospitality providers, drivers of cars, hospitality staff, shopkeepers, connections and new friends plus, of course always, the old dependable friends. In this book I shall endeavour to put before the reader my experiences during the last twelve years of my travels - that is since my last book was published in 2008. There is a short book called Quicklook at India which came out in 2010 and was updated in 2012 but that is for business people who need to absorb the essentials of this great, ancient yet modern land in a quick efficient way - I am assured that 25,000 words can be read in one hundred minutes! This book India-ji, is about places, peoples, animals, birdlife, butterflies, flora, holy rivers, valleys, jungles, great heritage and architectural sites and cities, temples, palaces, forts, havelis, beaches, backwaters, mangroves, mountains and semi deserts which I will invite others to experience for themselves. Ji is the honorific used in India to signify respect and courtesy when addressing a person or writing to them or indeed, about them. Thus, I am writing about the country India-ji.

A compilation of unique experiences, untold tales and reviews by a senior and decorated veteran