Explained : ‘Jo uchit samjho, woh karo’ not the only embarrassment in Naravane’s book and Its Impact

However, the same government has been reticent about sharing details of the clashes with China on the Line of Actual Control (LAC). That is the reason why the allegedly ‘unpublished’ memoirs of Naravane assume greater significance, Singh points out.

In a response to the Indian Express in September 2024, the ministry of defence revealed that 35 book titles and manuscripts were submitted for approval since 2020. All the books barring Naravane’s were cleared and published. Indeed, one of the clearances given was to former Northern Command chief Lt Gen. Y. Joshi, who wrote a glowing account of the Indian Army’s operations against the Chinese in 2020. Naravane’s account, though, differs significantly from Joshi’s.

Singh told Thapar that had Naravane also written a hagiography and praised the political and military leadership, he believed the former Army chief’s memoirs would have been cleared for publication. The memoirs, however, appear to have embarrassed both instead.    

One of the most startling revelations by Naravane, Singh maintains, is the admission that the Chinese troops had entered Indian territory in May 2020 and not June, as is popularly believed. As per the former Army chief’s recollection, the Chinese had pitched their tents in Galwan Valley a month before the hand-to-hand skirmish in which 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives.

The Northern Command and the 14th Corps commanders knew about the incursion but downplayed its significance, submitting that once the snow melted and the water level rose at that point, the Chinese tents would get submerged.

However, on 15 June 2020, Indian troops were ordered to go and pitch their own tents where the Chinese had already pitched theirs. This is what led to the skirmish in Galwan Valley. Who gave the order to the Indian troops — unarmed as per protocol — to pitch tents is, however, not known. Naravane also does not disclose who passed the order.