Growing up in Rourkela, with a visible German population in the early years of the steel plant, the author developed an interest in World War II, its history and lore. Many decades of study in this fascinating domain, starting with "war stories" and then pursuing it as a serious field of research, gave him significant expertise and specialization in this subject.
He honed his expertise by contributing extensively to the international history forum dedicated to "Axis History" for years. He posts on X (formerly Twitter) regularly on military history and analysis from the handle @Libertarian196. It was through this platform that retired senior officers of the Indian armed forces encouraged him and advised him to take an interest in Indian military history too. This led to his association with the defence and strategic affairs website: India Sentinels, under his own name.
In recent years the author published highly appreciated articles, based on interviews with military participants and experts, on a range of stories like the Indian airborne operations in Maldives (1988), a heroic sapper-action in the Bangladesh war (1971), the exploits of the Indian Navy's Vikrant Battle Group in forcing a favourable outcome in the east (1971), and gripping accounts of battles on the LOC in the Batalik (Kargil) area under unfavourable conditions, among others.
Apart from military history, he actively engages in study, analyses contemporary military and strategic issues, particularly focusing on the 2020 Chinese incursions in eastern Ladakh. He has done a number of interview-based articles and videos on this subject on the India Sentinels website and their YouTube channel. The videos are to be found in the 'Sandy Wars' series of this channel.
This is a pain that never leaves us the officers and men Th who fought in the Tawang sub-sector of Kameng in NEFA (North-East Frontier Agency, now Arunachal Pradesh) during that autumn and winter of 1962. After the debacle, many senior officers involved in the conflict wrote personal accounts-often absolving themselves of responsibility for the disastrous outcome.
As public awareness grew over time, so did the demand for truth-how the conflict began, and why it ended in such an ignominious defeat for India. Some called it a national disgrace.
In the spirit of relentless truth-seeking at times almost inquisitorial-many historians and analysts have devoted themselves to an exhaustive study of the 1962 conflict. This book is a product of that effort, and I have been invited to write this foreword.
While I was privy to most events and occurrences in the Kameng Frontier Division of Nefa, my battalion (1 Sikh), though originally part of 7 Infantry Brigade, was later operationally deployed in the right wing of 4 Division, on the Bumla-Tawang axis, under Brigadier Kalyan Singh's 4 Artillery Brigade, which came under Chinese assault on 23/24 October 1962. Thus, I did not fight at Namka Chu, which was on the left wing.
On 20 October 1962, a Chinese PLA division decimated 7 Infantry Brigade in under half a day. By midday, communication with units and formations had ceased completely-an eerie silence settled for the next 24 hours.
However, we, on the other axis of the Chinese advance, learned from the first stragglers that our battalion adjutant, Captain Mahavir Prasad (with the field rank of major during the battle), summoned on special duty to 7 Brigade Headquarters, was killed in action while manning an LMG (light machine gun) in a 1/9 Gorkha Rifles platoon locality. He was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra for gallantry. Mahavir's death was a deep loss-for the battalion, and for me personally. He was my senior, my mentor, and my friend: a consummate professional, respected and loved by all ranks. One question has lingered: What was Mahavir doing so far from his own unit-two days' march away, in the Namka Chu sector? The author has covered Mahavir's role at Namka Chu in detail.
In the early hours of 23 October 1962, the Chinese launched an attack on the Bumla-Tawang front, overrunning the Assam Rifles post at Bumla. The Chinese advance was then effectively checked, first by a screen platoon at IB Ridge.
Then later that day, at Tongpengla, our D Company with a battery of mountain guns blunted three assaults, gave the Chinese a bloody nose, caused many casualties, and effectively halted the Chinese advance toward Tawang.
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