Four Stars of Destiny: An Autobiography

by Manoj Mukund Naravane

In 2019, General Manoj Mukund Naravane became the twenty-eighth Chief of the Indian Army. His journey to the highest echelons of the Indian Armed Forces was not short of exciting and challenging events.

In his memoirs, General Naravane recounts the myriad experiences that shaped his character, from his childhood to his years in the Services and beyond. From his first encounter with the Chinese as a young officer in Sikkim to dealing with them in Galwan when he was Chief, from daily incidents of ­ring across the LC to implementing a ceasefi­re with Pakistan, General Naravane takes us through his distinguished career spanning over four decades that saw him serve in all corners of the country. This is a specialist’s take on what makes our forces unique, particularly those that deal with the planning and conduct of operations―the raison d’être of the Army.

In Four Stars of Destiny, General Naravane shares lessons on leadership and management with universal applicability and gives us an insider’s perspective on what else needs to be done to make the Armed Forces a more potent instrument of national power, ready to meet the challenges of the twenty-fi­rst century. General Naravane’s life and career illustrate the strength and resilience required to overcome adversity, and the importance of family and maintaining a work-life balance―something that has been lost in today’s 24x7 work culture.

Genres: Military Fiction, Autobiography, India, Biography, Politics, Memoir

448 pages, Hardcover

Published January 12, 2024

Reviews

[Shashank Goyal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is currently on hold due to a pending pre-publishing approval required by the MoD. Well we have seen across decades that banning or censorship only makes a book sexier. That being said, this book is a wonderful insight into the fine details of military bureaucracy, some of which were too stretched. Some, like the NDA and North-East stints were interesting. The contentious part is about the tension across the LAC post-covid. Who decides that a country goes to war? The elected political representative or the person leading the force? Who is responsible for the military, economic, diplomatic fallouts of the entire process? In a military dictatorship like Myanmar or a military democracy like Pakistan, its easier to answer. However, in a elected democracy like ours, the Cabinet decides. Answers to some questions are often decided by your favourite political color. The books leaves me with a wonderful phrase that will be echoed for a long time ‘Jo ucchit samjho woh karo’

[Tanzila]

brilliant book

[yoursbibliophilic · Rating 2 out of 5]

Four Stars of Destiny: An Autobiography is a memoir by former Chief of Army Staff Manoj Mukund Naravane, who served as the 28th head of the Indian Army from December 2019 to April 2022. The work presents a reflective account of Naravane’s professional career, leadership philosophy, & experiences in the higher command structures of India’s armed forces. Although autobiographical in form, the book functions as a strategic narrative of military leadership & civil–military relations in contemporary India. Though the book is very boring & less informative except the final chapters about Indo-China clash, which also became very controversial.

Though the author in this tenure knew about, “close media scrutiny. Each & every word spoken or written had to be absolutely non-controversial & not open to misunderstanding or misreporting. Gen Rawat had, on occasion, made off-the-cuff remarks or had been misquoted, leading to much debate, & I(he) was acutely aware of this fact” (Loc:3397) his book after retirement became talking point in the parliament of India.

The issue became a political dispute when Rahul Gandhi cited alleged excerpts from the unpublished memoir during a debate in the Lok Sabha. The quotations reportedly referred to decision-making during the 2020 India–China border crisis & included a statement attributed to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh conveying a message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi instructing the military leadership to ‘Jo ucchit samjho woh karo’ (Do whatever you deem is appropriate)(Loc:3886) which is most appropriate reply I feel.

The memoir required mandatory vetting by the Ministry of Defence (India) before publication, a standard procedure for senior military officials containing potentially sensitive material. However, before receiving such clearance, a typeset version of the manuscript began circulating online. Authorities later launched an investigation into the alleged leak of the unpublished text. Following the circulation of these excerpts, the publisher Penguin Random House India issued a statement clarifying that the book had not published in any format & that any circulating copies constituted copyright infringement

[Varun Bhakay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating look into how the apex operational authority in one of the world's largest armies operates. Gen. Naravane goes into considerable details on the seemingly mundane matters of the Fauj, issues like automation, digitisation, training, and more prominent ones like the different counter-insurgency operations it is charged with, the Tour of Duty project (known also as Agnipath), the integration of women into conventional roles, theatrisation et al.

Are there parts that seem like they were written for a Regimental Newsletter? Definitely. Whole chunks of text are unremarkable for their bureaucratic style (ironic, given Naravane himself complains about this being a bug of Service Manuals), but there are also enjoyable little sojourns to the NDA, the IMA, and his regimental service. There are insights too, into matters like foreign relations and the Line of Control and civil-military/military-industry relations, but all too often it feels like he had all the right ideas for all his designations.

The tract that has caused a ruckus in Parliament is fairly inoffensive but detailed, and speaks to a paralysis within elected policymakers and unelected Cabinet-rank czars. Naravane has no scores to settle with the government in power, else he would have used the book as a grievance portal for the failure of the establishment to appoint him Chief of Defence Staff. His observations, then, are valuable for their professional insights into the functioning of a system, though one can argue for or against decisions he made, and wonder why certain calls - like sacking a senior subordinate - were not exercised.

[Siddhartha Goswami · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to RG for making an unnecessary hue and cry about this book - made me curious enough to read it. The General has very clearly mentioned immediately after the "jo ucchit samjho..." statement that it was a "carte blanche", in other words complete freedom to do what the military deemed fit - for the best interest of the nation. It was a military situation and what else do you expect the military to do if they are not even given the freedom to deal with the situation in the right manner? If only the then UPA government had given the same freedom to our forces to deal with the Pakis in the appropriate way post 26/11, things would have been different.
One protest though - ULFA cannot be termed as a "terrorist" org. Surely they are insurgents, militants, separatists - being which is equally unlawful - but a former CAOS unable to understand the difference between "terrorists" and these other terms is sad.
Overall - an interesting read. Narrating right from his childhood till his retirement - the gracious General keeps us thoroughly entertained. The fact that I was reading this book several years later at a place less than a kilometer away from the place where he got his first posting as a flag rank gave me goosebumps.
JAI HIND!

[Pranjal · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book maintains a proper flow throughout steering the reader from induction in the army to retirement in the best possible manner.

The controversy over it was baseless and you would pass the chapter without realising the contentious issues raised by Gandhi in parliament from this particular book.

It felt like the former chief had some sour view towards the parallel organization especially the Air force and much more towards the bureaucrats.

The book is written in plain simple chronological order and should be very easy to grasp for the civil population as well.

The autobiography of the Army Chief fell short of expectations, notably lacking motivational and nationalistic themes.

[Dr. Kanik Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book to know about what it takes to be a soldier. It can be technical for a general reader with all the military words used in the book. The author lays out his life experiences in The Indian Army without holding back anything. It goes into the depth of the issues and is a good read which will stay long with you. Must read.

[Bindesh Dahal · Rating 3 out of 5]

An uneven book. At times interesting, at other times boring. Episodes on Kashmir and Myanmar are thrilling. Defense of Agnipath and theatre command are noteworthy. Enjoyed reading the militarydiplomacy part. Narvane's life is ordinary, therefore the personal descriptions are unremarkable.