Four Stars of Destiny: The 'unpublished' book quoted by Rahul Gandhi that created ruckus in Lok Sabha

The Lok Sabha was disrupted on Monday after Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi cited an 'unpublished' book by former Army chief General Manoj Naravane, "Four Stars of Destiny", while speaking on the 2017 Doklam issue. His remarks drew strong objections from Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah and Speaker Om Birla.

Gandhi quoted an article by The Caravan magazine on Narwane's memoir and claimed that "Chinese tanks entered Indian territory during the 2017 Doklam standoff."

Gandhi said, "Chinese tanks were within a few hundred metres of Indian positions on the Kailash range." The moment Gandhi gave this statement, there was a huge uproar.

In the Lok Sabha, the Congress leader insisted that the document was authenticated and he could quote from it. He said he never wanted to speak on the particular issue, but decided to do so after BJP's Tejasvi Surya questioned the patriotism of the Congress party.

ALSO READ: Lok Sabha breaks into a ruckus after Rahul Gandhi cites book on alleged China intrusion

Gandhi termed the former army chief's memoirs as '100 percent authentic,' to which Rajnath Singh asked whether the book had been published or not.

"I want that LoP, Lok Sabha (Rahul Gandhi), should present before the House the book he is quoting from, because the book he is referring to has not been published," said the defence minister.

Speaker Om Birla cited rules, saying no book or newspaper clipping can be quoted on a matter not related to the proceedings of the House.

In the middle of the heated debate, Akhilesh Yadav, Samajwadi Party chief in Lok Sabha, backed Gandhi and said, "China is a sensitive issue, if there is some suggestion in the country's interest, the LoP should be allowed to read it."

What is 'Four Stars of Destiny'?

Four Stars of Destiny is an ‘unpublished’ book by former Army chief General Manoj Naravane that is listed on Amazon but is not yet available in India. The 448-page book, published by Penguin, carries a description that says, "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 fi­ring 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."

It further adds, "This is a specialist’s take on the things that make our forces unique, particularly those that deal with the planning and conduct of operations—the raison d’être of the Army."

Who is Gen Narvane(retd)?

General Manoj Mukund Naravane (retd) served as the twenty-eighth chief of the army staff of the Indian Army from 31 December 2019 to 30 April 2022. He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla (Pune); the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun; the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington; and the Army War College, Mhow, where he was also on the faculty.

In a distinguished military career spanning more than four decades, he also served as the vice chief of army staff and general officer commanding-in-chief of the Training and Eastern Commands. He has vast experience in foreign affairs, having been part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka as well as defence attaché at Yangon, Myanmar, and head of the Indian delegation to several countries. He also writes a bi-weekly column for ThePrint India on matters of national security.