Coomar: The Story of Major Sudhir Walia, AC, SM*

by Jaishree Laxmikant

A biographical account of one of the highly decorated officers of the Indian Army, Maj Sudhir Kumar Walia, Ashok Chakra, Sena Medal and a Bar. This book is about life and times of the officer who belonged to the elite Special Forces. As is the norm, so-called Ghost-operators of the Indian Army remain unknown to the outside world. This book gives a peep into the life of the officer who went down fighting against heavy odds but not before completing his mission. Built upon the first-hand accounts of his peer group and intimate details shared by his family members, this book stands out for its unique style of narration.

215 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 30, 2023

Reviews

[Gaurav Bhagwat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This biography depicts the life of Major Sudhir 'Coomar' Walia, AC, SM* of the NINE (9th Parachute Regiment - famous special forces unit of the Indian Army). Compared to conventional biographies, this is a short book. It doesn't give any details of the operations carried on by the protagonist 'Rambo' of the Indian Army and it doesn't narrate much about the men of the unit. One cannot blame author for this as special operations are essentially classified in nature. Furthermore, this book is not about Major Sudhir as a combat leader. This book celebrates Major Sudhir as a person. And from that perspective, the book is rich with Major Sudhir's memories.

Most of the book is written from a first-person perspective. It feels as if Major Sudhir is talking to the reader and taking him down the memory lane to his school, his training days at National Defense Academy, Indian Military Academy, his initial experience with 4th Jat Regiment during peace keeping mission in Sri Lanka and how he came in contact with the NINE, his probation period and subsequent short career with the NINE. Sudhir narrates us of his achievements as well as occasional misses (inability to achieve 'instructor' grading in Junior Leaders Commando Training School). Last chapters are from a third-person perspective when reader is exposed to the martyrdom of Major Sudhir and his friends and family talks of him. Major Sudhir was killed in action in 1999 and those who knew him still vouch for him even after 14 years in 2023. This tells volumes about his character.

[Jarnish Bandral · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliantly researched and written.

[Molik Sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all kudos to Jaishree ma'am (Parapedia) to come up with this project, pursue it the hard way and finally complete it despite of all the challenges which obviously can't be mentioned here.
The book covers the life of one of the 'amazingest' soldiers of Indian Army who achieved almost everything in 9 years of service. His life story comes as a big time inspiration to readers. One unique thing about the book is the way the author has covered his life, you would find it as soon as you start reading it.
I'm sure you would feel much closer to sudhir sir once you are done with the book and would surely complain to the author of writing only 200 pages, you would want to read about him more.

[Yash Sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

A best of the best books on SF, very interesting as written as a first person by Jaishree Laxmikant