Better Dead than Disabled: How the Army Treats its War Wounded

Back in the 1960s, BM Kaul defied the army’s tradition of secrecy with his books The Untold Story and Confrontation with Pakistan, incurring the wrath of the establishment. Now, his nephew Col Anil Kaul relates in a raw yet sensitive manner how, despite being honoured with a Vir Chakra – or because of it – he had to fight every inch of the way to continue to serve his country with dignity after being wounded in the IPKF operation in Sri Lanka in 1987. The reader will be astonished to learn that obvious disability-a missing eye and a multilated hand does not bring forth admiration, sympathy or special treatment from the establishment. The internal workings of the army also stand exposed, an exposure that is vital if corrective action is to be taken. Kaul’s brutal honesty laced with ironic humour, his keen power of observation and sheer insouciance make for an unputdownable book. it is left to the reader to decide which he wielded to deadlier effect-the pen or the sward.