“India stands out starkly for this very sterling quality that our armed forces have stayed away from politics and are absolutely apolitical,” said former Chief of Army Staff, MM Naravane.
Embroiled in a political controversy over his unpublished memoir recently himself, a rare occurrence for somebody in his position in a country such as ours, he asserted that the Indian armed forces will work with the government “no matter what party is in power,” but that doesn’t mean that the Army is politicised.
“That’s the politico-military objective. We have had so many governments. In the 71 war, there was a Congress government. Does that mean the entire army was aligned to Congress?” he said, recalling the Indira Gandhi-led war that led to the formation of Bangladesh.
The conversation, though, started on a lighter note. Having recently authored The Curious and the Classified, Naravane uses the book to open doors into lesser-known corners of military life. From misunderstood acronyms to forgotten traditions, he brings forward “untold stories, unheard stories of the army and the armed forces,” rooted in history and operational reality.
Throughout the book, he explained several aspects using references to movies. He was blunt in his assessment: “war movies are a torture to watch.”
The question he was most expecting was the furore in Parliament in the previous session regarding his unpublished memoir, Four Stars of Destiny.
From the role of media during incidents like Pulwama and Pahalgam, to questions of war, politics, and perception, Naravane’s responses consistently struck a balance of restraint, clarity, and humour.
Watch his most candid tell-all in the latest episode of Badi Badi Baatein.