- By Soumyaroop Mukherjee
- Mon, 02 Feb 2026 04:22 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
A ruckus emerged in the Lok Sabha on Monday after the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, quoted some paragraphs from an unpublished memoir of the former Chief of Army Staff, General MM Naravane. The uproar quickly escalated after Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh stepped in to interrupt Rahul Gandhi from speaking. Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla also warned the LoP that unpublished works cannot be cited during parliament proceedings. The Chair also directed the LoP to authenticate the materials, which he presented in front of the House.
What Is Naravane’s Unpublished Book?
The passages which were cited by the Leader of the Opposition (LoP), Rahul Gandhi relates to memoir excerpts of former Army General MM Naravane called ‘Four Stars of Destiny’. The book was scheduled to release on April 2024. However, it is currently undergoing review by the Ministry of Defence before release.
According to Caravan magazine, the published excerpts from the book are related to the decision-making process that took place before the 2020 standoff in Eastern Ladakh, which led to clashes between India and China in Galwan.
The excerpts also point to the fact that the former army chief allegedly questioned the decisions taken by the political leadership while this standoff was at its peak. He also questioned the operational decisions taken by the military commanders at the time of the operations. The magazine characterises the book as an ‘yet-unpublished memoir’.
Speaking about his memoir at a literature festival in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh, he said, quoted The Print, “I think it is maturing, like aged wine. The longer it’s there, it becomes more and more vintage; of greater value.” When asked about his experience of writing the memoir at the festival, the former Army General said, “My job was to write the book and give it to the publishers. It was the publishers who were to get permission from the Ministry of Defence. It has been under review for more than a year now.”
Where Can You Buy The Book?
Once published, the book will be Amazon. The company has listed the book on its website, but it is ‘currently out of stock’ because the manuscript is undergoing a review by the Ministry of Defence.