It is necessary to revive the vital issue of national security suppressed, presumably at the behest of the government, by former COAS Gen MM Naravane’s declaration on February 10,  that his controversial book Four Stars of Destiny has not been published. For a full one week, the unpublished book paralysed Parliament and gave it publicity of high order. The book contains an oral operational directive presumably from PM Narendra Modi to Naravane at the height of the India-China crisis on Kailash Ridge on August 31, 2020 — “jo uchit samjho woh karo” (JUSWK). The situation obtaining at the time is well known and  does not require recall. In his book Naravane wrote: “I was handed a hot potato” adding something few have recounted earlier, that he was told by the highest authority: “I should not be the first to open fire”. This was in accordance with prevailing protocols promulgated in 1993-96 on “no use of firearms”. JUSWK was clearly a case of passing the buck.

On December 15, 2023, Naravane issued a tweet, “Hello friends, my book is available….follow this link”. The book was to hit the stands in January 2024. On 10 February 2026, he said (or was forced to say): “My book has not been published”, which terminated several adjournment motions in the Lok Sabha. The publisher, Penguin Random House, repeated the claim on the same day. Both author and publisher were muzzled. Earlier in October 2025, at a literary festival in Kasauli, Naravane said: “The book is under review. The publisher has to get clearance; now it is between the publisher and the government”. In December 2023, the publisher provided........

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