Contents

Part I: Ancestry and Early Life

1. A Family Military Tradition

2. Bonds of Blood with the ‘Mahrattas’

3. The Spirit of a Warrior

4. Impact of Second World War and Partition

5. Growing Up in Army Cantonments

Part II: Cadet to a Colonel

7. Regimental Soldiering

8. Sharpening the Cutting Edge

9. The Crucible – Command of the Battalion

10. Military Attaché in Algeria

Part III: Flag Rank: From One Star to C-in-C

11 Brigade Commander – Containing the Fire

12 Operation Mousetrap

13 Death Sentence to Brigadier ‘Shaitan Singh’

14 Gateway to the Top

15 Masterminding Operations

16 Stand-off in Siachen

17 Kargil – The Pakistani Misadventure

18 Command of Strike Corps and Exercise Poorna Vijay

19 Colonel of the Regiment

20 Attack on Parliament and Operation Parakram

21 Army Commander – The Penultimate Rung

Part IV: The Pinnacle

22 ‘Jangi Laat’ – Becoming the Army Chief

23 The Security Perspective

24 Internal Security and Countering Terrorism

25 Chief of Defence Staff – The Way Forward

26 The Nuclear Dimension

27 Snow Tsunami and Earthquake in Kashmir

28 Defence Diplomacy and Neighbourhood

29 Preparing for the Future

30 Leadership and Command Experience

31 The Man behind the Machine

32 Sports and Adventure Activities

34 Musharraf and I

Part V: Governor of Arunachal Pradesh

35 The Second Innings

36 A Proactive Approach

37 Development of North East and ‘Look East’ Policy

38 Upliftment of Rural Areas and Tourism

39 Captives of Geography

Part VI: Reflections

41. A View from the Verandah

Acknowledgements

About the Author