A decade of soldiering that began on the Saltoro Range overlooking the Siachen Glacier and ended in the sultry jungles of Rangapahar, Nagaland, is not an uncommon occurrence for Army personnel in India. Many likely experienced such a pattern of postings, with the varied experiences that come with such vast divergences. The sheer audacity of soldiers from the plains mastering extreme alpine climbing skills to dominate the heights over Siachen is echoed in their jungle-tracking capabilities in the tropical forests of Nagaland.
But none would have worn snow boots on the Saltoro as the 102 Brigade Commander and ended the perilous 1990s wearing the tried-and-tested green jungle boots as General Officer Commanding 3 Corps, as did Lt Gen Rostum Kaikhusro Nanavatty (retd). It takes a particular kind of soldier to make the grade, ticking all the boxes required for the command of operational tasks that began at altitudes higher than humans can live and culminated in the steamy jungles of Nagaland. In between was the ultimate politico-military test of commanding the 19 Division in Baramulla.
The challenges India confronted during the perilous period of the 1990s far surpass anything that had preceded or followed that stressful decade. The country faced a full spectrum of socio-political, economic, military, internal security, and foreign policy challenges. The scale of these challenges would have had social media burning through data faster than Diwali fireworks. For those engaged in pulling India’s chestnuts out of the fires during that tumultuous decade, it is just as well that today’s ultra-pervasive social media did not exist then. They were able to focus without unnecessary distractions or the desire for publicity.
Also read: Lt Gen Nanavatty’s Kashmir roadmap was prophetic. He now calls Modi govt move ‘a bold step’
A military biography
The epitome of such a practitioner is undoubtedly Lt Gen Nanavatty, who commanded the prestigious Siachen Brigade before India and Pakistan agreed on a sensible ceasefire and implemented a cessation of hostilities with Naga insurgents, India’s oldest separatist group. His military accomplishments—despite his no-nonsense personality—speak volumes about his professional excellence and the fairness of the overall Army promotion practices. Shooting Straight by AVM Arjun Subramaniam (retd) is an excellent professional account of this dyed-in-olive-green Gurkha officer (Harper Collins, 2025).
- Lt Gen Nanavatty’s military career: Commanding Siachen Brigade and 3 Corps during India’s toughest military and internal security challenges in the 1990s.
- National security challenges of the 1990s: From Kashmir insurgency to the Kargil War and Naga ambushes, Lt Gen Nanavatty played a key role.
- Biography highlights: Shooting Straight by AVM Arjun Subramaniam (retd) offers an operational and ethical account of Lt Gen Nanavatty’s leadership in adverse conditions.
- Need for war hero stories: Emphasis on capturing the narratives of soldiers and civilian counterparts who steered India through crises.
The book justifies its caption as ‘A Military Biography,’ for it is precisely that, eminently capturing the professional and ethical personality of a justifiably rare soldier. However, its importance and value extend far beyond excellent operational account of military deployment in inhospitable environments. It tells the story of an officer traversing the myriad national security crises India faced over the last few decades. His missed opportunities in the 1965 and 1971 conventional wars were compensated by operational responsibilities in Sri Lanka, followed by service in the insurgency-riddled minefields around India.
This account of an excellent officer is ultimately a story of how India’s professional practitioners steered this country from literally isolated positions during the 1990s to a point where it could finally join the global order with dignity. While the book avoids going into the political or social issues that bedevilled India during that period—and there were many more than most memory recounts for most—the handling of national security issues is an indicator of the tasks before the country then. Fearless soldiers and their feisty civilian counterparts worked in tandem to steer India toward success.
This is the story of one such soldier, who reached high places on merit, with his role in handling the various crises serving as operational responsibilities. The socio-psychological challenges are vividly depicted, and the Indian Army’s operational art is suitably highlighted. However, for a wider account of recent history, we also need the stories of civilian officers who dealt with equally serious problems. India entered the decade in a precarious financial situation, soon confronted by Mandal and Mandir matters, and ended the millennium in 2000 with IC-814 returning from Kandahar with all but one passenger and crew.
Stories waiting to be told
In those intervening years, as Punjab-based terrorism petered out, Kashmir lit up to become an international issue of the highest ranking. This allowed Pakistan to punch way above its weight—a situation that ultimately ended ignominiously for it in the heights of Kargil in 1999. The spectre of urban terrorism was real, as Mumbai witnessed on 12 March 1992 and on multiple occasions thereafter. Assam was as insurgency-riddled as the Kashmir Valley, even as the LTTE overplayed its cards by assassinating Rajiv Gandhi. Naga insurgents ambushed security forces with a precision that has yet to be matched by any group.
These internal challenges were mirrored by equally daunting foreign policy crises that put India at a severe disadvantage. The 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union saw India’s armed forces desperately trying to maintain equipment that was now sourced from many different countries, all while combating a jihadist insurgency in Kashmir that made international human rights headlines. Lest memory fail, China was still a rampant nuclear proliferator, compelling India to overtly weaponise with twin tests in 1998. Sanctions were slapped down but gradually guided out by the civilian counterparts of Lt Gen Nanavatty. Their stories remain to be told as well.
Manvendra Singh is a BJP leader, Editor-in-Chief of Defence & Security Alert and Chairman, Soldier Welfare Advisory Committee, Rajasthan. He tweets @ManvendraJasol. Views are personal.
(Edited by Prashant)