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Amid the ongoing controversy surrounding former Army Chief General MM Naravane’s unpublished memoir, Four Stars of Destiny, the Centre is considering a mandatory 20-year cooling-off period for senior officials in positions of power—including military officers—before they can publish books post-retirement.
According to a report by the Hindustan Times, citing top officials, a formal order regarding this policy is expected to be issued soon. While the matter was not part of the official Cabinet agenda, it reportedly arose as part of the general discussion.
The General Naravane book row
General Naravane’s claims regarding sensitive moments during the 2020 India-China military tensions in eastern Ladakh have caused significant friction in Parliament over the last two weeks.
On February 2, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, referenced events detailed in the book. The government initially objected to his speech because the book had not yet been published.
In response, Gandhi brought a copy of the manuscript to Parliament to substantiate his claims. Shortly thereafter, a PDF version of the book began circulating widely on social media.
Following these events, the Delhi Police registered an FIR and launched an investigation into the unauthorised distribution of the manuscript across both digital and physical formats.
The publisher, Penguin Random House India (PRHI), issued a statement following the police probe: “Any copies of the book currently in circulation, in whole or in part, whether in print, digital, PDF, or any other format, online or offline, on any platform, constitutes an infringement of PRHI’s copyright and must immediately be ceased. Penguin Random House India shall be exercising remedies available in law against the illegal and unauthorised dissemination of the book.”
Later, the Delhi Police issued a notice to the publisher and asked them to respond to questions about the unpublished book and to cooperate with the investigation. The notice has also instructed Penguin to join the probe and clarify the circumstances under which the manuscript of the book was available before its formal launch.
The publisher said in a clarification that as of now, the book is unreleased and pending clearance from the Ministry of Defence. Penguin said in its statement, “Pre-order is a standard publishing practice. It allows readers and retailers to place advance orders. The book is not yet published or available.”
General Naravane officially confirmed that the book has not yet been released officially.
