New Delhi: INTRODUCTION
At a time when narratives, both present and past, are being pushed to shape perceptions, apolitical writers are at a premium. Further enhancing his reputation as one of India’s finest military historians, Shiv Kunal Verma’s second volume ‘Yodha II: Illustrated Military History of India’ not only sets the benchmark yet again, but in the process, further lifts the bar by another few notches. Yodha I had covered the period from the Epics to the Uprising of 1857, while the second volume now takes us through ‘The Crown (1858) to the Kargil War (1999)’, which he had himself filmed. The combined panoramic canvas has over 1,600 stunning illustrations, paintings and photographs that bring to life the stunning and diverse spectrum of India’s military history.
Kunal was known as ‘Fauji’ while studying at the Doon School and he has more than lived up to that sobriquet as he has single-handedly made it his life’s mission to keep military history alive in this country. His earlier books include the spectacular and seminal three-volume Northeast Trilogy, books on the Assam Rifles, The Long Road to Siachen, then the book that is considered to be the most definitive work on what was India’s worst military disaster, 1962: The War that Wasn’t. This objective masterpiece (shortly to be released in Hindi as well) was followed by 1965: A Western Sunrise and Industani, all of which adds up to a rich body of work. Like all his earlier work, this latest offering is also in a class apart.
Yodha II covers a critical historical timeframe, that mainly deals with the subcontinent under the colonial boot and the post-Independence era, and the book offers insightful analyses of battles and military strategies, the images supported by text and captions that are written in an engaging narrative style with deep research and analysis.
ABOUT THE BOOK
While writing about the developments post 1857, the author does not mince words and outlines how the British systematically responded with raw brutality to the uprisings which left the sub-continent stunned. On 01 November 1858, Queen Victoria passed control of the territories from the East India Company to the British government who opted to ‘shock and awe’ the subcontinent’s populations into submission. With the ‘Majesty of Governance’ being the underlining mantra, the British Indian Army was also overhauled as was the existing educational system. The Presidency Armies were now all merged into the British Indian Army and the nomenclature of regiments/ units were changed while martial races were ‘created’.
He then writes about the systematic British expansion as wars in Bhutan from 1864-1865, Lushai in 1871 and also about the ‘Great Game’ which he says “impacted the geopolitical situation and not only coloured events at that time but continued to do so two centuries later”. Once the dust of the 1857 Uprising settled, the British felt the need to hold a visual demonstration of imperial rule which resulted in the Delhi Grand Durbar of 1877 by a show of ‘military prowess’. He states that Queen Victoria was not present but her speech was read out which contained ‘tall promises that included liberty and dignity which were soon discarded’.
Writing about the State Forces, Kunal says of the 550 Princely States 58 maintained Armed Forces of a standard fit to be used for the defence of India, but they were bound by many restrictions imposed on them. Of these many served in the Boxer Rebellion as well as the two World Wars and were later amalgamated into the Indian Army.
Another aspect which has been very well covered by Kunal is the Younghusband Expedition to Tibet in 1904 and the Bailey-Morshead Expedition to Tsangpo in 1913. The latter for the first time ‘established the definitive route by which the Tsangpo River reached the sea from the Himalayas through the Tsangpo Gorge’. Their findings and survey of the watershed would prove to be the basis of drawing the McMahon Line in Simla a year later. The texts in both cases have been supplemented by wonderful photographs. His own helicopter forrays up the Dibang Valley upto both Andra La and Yonggyap La add tremendously to the photographic content.
As regards World War I, Kunal says; “that it has been universally acknowledged that the Indians had arrived in the nick of time and played a crucial part. 1.5 million men had enlisted between the start of the hostilities and the end of the war of which 0.9 million were combatants. The Indians fought in diverse theatres and proved their mettle in the many battles fought but by the end 53, 486 had lost their lives and 64, 350 were wounded and 2937 were missing. The Indians also won 21 Victoria Crosses but he states that; ‘unfortunately their important contributions were never given the recognition they rightfully deserved’. Unfairly treated and punished by their colonial rulers, their “contribution to the conflict has mostly been erased from history by the British after the war.”
Perhaps the most important chapter is when Kunal writes about the Atlantic Charter that gave India’s freedom movement its biggest boost. He talks of how President Roosevelt’s policies ensured that “Churchill; towed the American line or sank like a stone with his imperialist beliefs”. He quotes Roosevelt as saying; “Yes I can’t believe that we can fight a war against fascist slavery, and at the same time not work to free people all over the world from a backward colonial policy”. Kunal also emphatically states that apart from the stand taken by the Americans, the two other reasons that forced the British to leave India in 1947 were the activities of NetajiSubash Chandra Bose and Royal Indian Naval Mutiny in February 1946.
During World War II, 2.5 million Indian men were sent to fight and 14 million worked around the clock to keep the war factories and farms running. Field marshal Slim called the Indian troops in Burma, ’the best in the world’. The Indian Air Force also ‘cut their teeth’ while Royal Indian Navy ships saw action in multiple theatres of war and came into their own.
Regarding J&K, Kunal writes that “it was of great interest to the departing British” and “the forcible annexation of the Princely state of J&K had been meticulously planned by British officers on both sides of the border with operational directives being issued within four days of Pakistan’s independence. Though it would take four months for the Lakshars to be mobilised and take on the Jammu & Kashmir State Forces”. Interestingly, this aspect had first been documented by him almost a decade and a half previously in his earlier book, The Long Road to Siachen, where he also detailed how Mohammad Ali Jinnah had been recruited by none other than Winston Churchill.
Amongst the operations covered in great detail are Operation DattaKhel in Gilgit where Major William Brown, who had resigned from the British Army to serve Pakistan led the mutiny of the Gilgit Scouts. He was later awarded the MBE though he admits “his actions appeared to possess all the elements of high treason”. Later in 1993 he was posthumously awarded the Sitara-i-Imtiaz by the Pakistani government. These wheels within wheels when knit together and the dots that are joined together, paint a very interesting picture.
Yodha II also covers how the Governor of Assam, JairamdasDaulatram tasked Major Bob Khathing, a former Assam Rifles Officer then with Indian Frontier Administrative Service, to occupy Tawang. He completed his task after nearly a month’s march on 11 February 1951. But when Prime Minister Nehru found out he was ’furious’. Fortunately, Tawang is now firmly within India. Once again, his own coverage of the Northeast and work with the Assam Rifles endows Kunal to richly illustrate these otherwise lesser-known events with photographs painstakingly shot during the Northeast Trilogy.
Not surprisingly, the battles of 1962 are extremely well covered with outstanding photographs and detailed maps. Kunal’s book on 1962 is of course a must read and his intimate knowledge of the terrain and details of the battle stand out. No wonder he states that the trio of Generals PN Thapar the Army Chief, Lieutenant General LP Sen the Eastern Army Commander and Lieutenant General BM Kaul were “found completely out of their depth in NEFA which underlined the need to keep politics away from the Armed Forces”. Subsequently, it was left to Lieutenant General Sam Manekshaw who took over as the 4 Corps Commander to issue a one-line order stating ’there will be no withdrawal unless orders were given in writing’ and then adding wryly that ‘those orders will never come’!
Writing about the 1965 War he states that in many ways was an extension of the 1962 War. All major battles and the manner in which the conflict unfolded are wonderfully elucidated once again with rare photographs and precise maps. But what has seldom been written is Chairman Mao’s advice to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto regarding the implementation of ‘Op Gibraltar’ which was an uprising in J&K. He quotes Mao; ‘in future concentrate on a particular point of India’s weakness and launch your attack to completely destroy that formation’. He also quotes Chou En-Lai telling President Ayub’s son; ‘Pakistan has to take Kashmir!’
The Battles of 1971 are very well covered. Kunal states that the Battle of Hilli was the bloodiest battle in the Eastern Theatre and was fought when the morale of the Pakistani defenders was extremely high. 202 Mountain Brigade under Brigadier FarhadBhatty was given the task of capturing Bogra and 8 GUARDS commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Shamsher Singh was assigned to capture Morpara which they achieved despite massive casualties. The subsequent vital thrust of 4 Corps under Lieutenant General Sagat Singh has also been covered in great detail in which he has brought that the intention was not to capture Dacca but only areas up to the Meghna River. The Battles fought at Akhaura and Ashuganj by 18 Rajput (his father, Lieutenant Colonel Ashok Kalyan Verma was the Commanding Officer), 10 Bihar and 4 Guards that were part of 311 Mountain Brigade, played a major part in forcing open the gates to Dacca.
He then talks about the atrocities by the Pakistani Army including the ‘Race Improvement Camp’ where Pakistani soldiers “were allowed to have their way”. Unfortunately, at the Simla in 1972 even though the Indians even though they held all the cards, like they had done in in Tashkent six years earlier returned everything to Pakistan without even ensuring the release of their own POW’s who were in Pakistani custody.
The book also covers other events such as the occupation of the geo strategically important Siachen Glacier in 1984, Operation Blue Star the same year as well as Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka where he states that the “Indian soldiers fought gallantly despite many lacunae in the environment” and that this also “saw the emergence of true jointmanship”. The Indian Armed Forces “learnt a number of lessons due to this brutal insurgency which came in handy in Kashmir a little while later”.
Painstakingly written and put together, the scope of the book is stunning. Most people tend to look at any battle or period of history in a piecemeal manner and the picture that emerges is quite different from the one we see in case we view the same events against the larger framework. This book has covered the vast panorama of events post 1858 and has opened a ‘window into India’s military history’.
CONCLUSION
The book gives out a realistic perspective of India’s rich military heritage with some outstanding maps which help the reader understand the battles fought and rare photographs. The structure of the book offers readers a choice of either embarking on a comprehensive and chronological examination of various events and battles in a selective reading based on specific time lines and campaigns.
Having read the first book one can clearly that both need to occupy the book shelves of all those who are not only keen students of India’s rich military legacy but also students, academicians and for those individuals wanting to understand the ethos and legacy of India’s Armed Forces and the manner in which they have contributed towards shaping the destiny of the nation. To quote Yashwant Thorat, the book is “a must for everybody, for it puts our entire military history into perspective”.
Maj Gen Jagatbir Singh, VSM (Retd) was with the Indian Army.