New Delhi: The armed forces have played a key role in protecting India, and the defence services have long held a special place in Indian consciousness.
Air Vice Marshal Arjun Subramaniam’s Full Spectrum: India’s Wars, 1972-2020 offers a comprehensive look at modern Indian war and conflict over the past five decades.
The book, published by Harper Collins India, is due to be released on 21 October on SoftCover, ThePrint’s e-venue to launch select non-fiction books.
In his first book, India’s Wars: A Military History, 1947-1971, Subramaniam took readers through events leading to the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971. His latest work takes the story forward.
The new book covers every major operation that the armed forces have participated in, both within and outside of India — including insurgencies in the Northeast, terrorism and proxy wars in Jammu and Kashmir, separatist violence in Punjab and the IPKF intervention in Sri Lanka, and delves into the tensions along the LoC and the LAC. It weaves the strategic, operational and human aspects of conflict into a well-paced story that examines how these aspects have changed over time.
Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat said the book covers a vast landscape that ranges from India’s strategic compulsions to joint operations and intense personal experiences of combat, and offers policy and operational planners a detailed lens into the past.
Ashley J Tellis, Tata Chair, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, noted that through meticulous research, Subramaniam has “uncovered telling details that vivify the familiar story of India’s post-1971 conflicts in a new history that does justice — and honour — to all of India’s armed forces”.
Former chief of air staff Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa called this book “an honest appraisal and analysis of events with no attempts either to glorify or unfairly criticize any individual or action”.
Arjun Subramaniam is a serving Air Vice Marshal in the Indian Air Force. A fighter pilot who has commanded a squadron and a large flying base, he has a PhD in Defence and Strategic Studies. A prolific writer and speaker on military history, air power and national security, he is currently posted as a faculty member at the National Defence College, New Delhi.