in this book the author has attempted to recapture and frame the inspiring picture of an emotionally roused, righteously indignant India-to tell the great story of how the fateful Twenty two-day War wrought a miracle on the Indian people. An insolent Pakistan-whose President claimed that one Pakistani is equal to three Indians-and a biased Western opinion whipped up a righteous indignation that stung our nation into unprecedented unity, inspired our armed forces to prodigies of valour and roused the civilian population to a unique war effort and rare acts of courage. The Twentytwo-day war galvanized the spirits of the Indian people, restored the nation’s self-confidence and banished the defeatism that was beginning to grip the people. Besides narrating the events of the war most lucidly and forcefully, the author has gone a step further and evaluated its political and military impact on the Indo-Pakistan sub-continent. It is patently clear that Pakistan and her army were “cut to size†but the author warns that the latter is “Still left with a lot of kick and is capable of giving a good account of itself.†India cannot therefore afford to be complacent or relax her vigilance.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR D.R. Mankekar
Distinguished editor, political commentator and author of over twenty-six books, D.R. Mankekar's journalistic career spanned four eventful decades. He was editor of The Times of India (Delhi). Indian Express (Delhi and Bombay) and war correspondent on the Burma from representing Reuters and API news agencies during World War II. He is perhaps the only Indian author to cover every armed conflict since independence on the country's borders. A champion of the freedom of the Press, Mankekar did not hesitate to ruffle the feathers of the powers that be in his thought-provoking books of essays Whose Freedom? Whose Order? Press Under Pressure and Media and the Third world. He chaired the co-ordinating committee of the Press Agencies Pool of non-aligned countries and was Founder Secretary and President of the Author's Guild of India. a prolific writer, he wrote Mewar Saga (a history) and the biographies of Lal Bahadur Shastri and Homi Mody. His book Decline and Fall of Indira Gandhi co-authored with Kamala Mankekar remains an authentic account of the excesses committed by the government during the emergency. He is also the author of Guilty Men of 1962 and On Slippery Slopes of Nagaland. Mankekar passed away in 1987.
There are no reviews yet.