Former Northern Army Commander Lt. Gen (Retd) Y.K. Joshi has recently published a book titled Who Dares Wins: A Soldier’s Memoir (Penguin Random House). It is an inspiring autobiography penned by a Kargil War hero, currently the Director General of the Centre for Contemporary China Studies (CCCS), a policy think tank established by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in 2017.

A decorated army commander who served on both fronts against China and Pakistan, Lt Gen Joshi was commissioned in the 13th Battalion of the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles (JAK RIF) which has a storied history in the annals of the Indian Army. The origins of JAK RIF date back to 1820 when Maharaja Gulab Singh, the founder of the erstwhile Kingdom of Jammu and Kashmir, raised this force that then went on to distinguish itself in successive battles regionally as well as in overseas deployments.

Lt Gen Joshi’s memoirs are as much about his life as about the remarkable lives and exploits of numerous comrades-in-arms, some of whom earned glory by making the ultimate sacrifice during the Kargil War in the wake of Pakistan’s perfidy in 1999. As a second-in-command as a Lt Colonel, he was suddenly thrust into the Commanding Officer’s (CO) role during Operation Vijay and was pitchforked into battle for the Tololing Heights in the Dras Sub-Sector on 14 June of that year. It was a daunting task against a well-entrenched enemy that had intruded across the Line of Control and fortified itself on a number of heights. The assault parties had to contend with sub-zero temperatures, steep inclines and unbelievably rugged terrain. Amidst acrid smoke and the smell of cordite, the withering gunfire from enemy positions cut short many lives.

The story of his life begins far away from the craggy peaks of Kargil in more sedate surroundings. He was born into a loving family with modest........

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