The Kargil Girl

The Kargil Girl
Author: Gunjan Saxena
Publisher: Penguin Random House India Private Limited
Total Pages: 168
Release: 2020-08-17
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 935305883X

In 1994, twenty-year-old Gunjan Saxena boards a train to Mysore to appear for the selection process of the fourth Short Service Commission (for women) pilot course. Seventy-four weeks of back-breaking training later, she passes out of the Air Force Academy in Dundigal as Pilot Officer Gunjan Saxena. On 3 May 1999, local shepherds report a Pakistani intrusion in Kargil. By mid-May, thousands of Indian troops are engaged in fierce mountain warfare with the aim to flush out the intruders. The Indian Air Force launches Operation Safed Sagar, with all its pilots at its disposal. While female pilots are yet to be employed in a war zone, they are called in for medical evacuation, dropping of supplies and reconnaissance. This is the time for Saxena to prove her mettle. From airdropping vital supplies to Indian troops in the Dras and Batalik regions and casualty evacuation from the midst of the ongoing battle, to meticulously informing her seniors of enemy positions and even narrowly escaping a Pakistani rocket missile during one of her sorties, Saxena fearlessly discharges her duties, earning herself the moniker 'The Kargil Girl'. This is her inspiring story, in her words.

Kargil Girl

Kargil Girl
Author: Flight Lieutenant Gunjan Saxena
Publisher: Ebury Press
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2020-08-17
Genre:
ISBN: 9780143451068

In 1994, twenty-year-old Gunjan Saxena boards a train to Mysore to appear for the selection process of the fourth Short Service Commission (for women) pilot course. Seventy-four weeks of back-breaking training later, she passes out of the Air Force Academy in Dundigal as Pilot Officer Gunjan Saxena. On 3 May 1999, local shepherds report a Pakistani intrusion in Kargil. By mid-May, thousands of Indian troops are engaged in fierce mountain warfare with the aim to flush out the intruders. The Indian Air Force launches Operation Safed Sagar, with all its pilots at its disposal. While female pilots are yet to be employed in a war zone, they are called in for medical evacuation, dropping of supplies and reconnaissance. This is the time for Saxena to prove her mettle. From airdropping vital supplies to Indian troops in the Dras and Batalik regions and casualty evacuation from the midst of the ongoing battle, to meticulously informing her seniors of enemy positions and even narrowly escaping a Pakistani rocket missile during one of her sorties, Saxena fearlessly discharges her duties, earning herself the moniker 'The Kargil Girl'. This is her inspiring story, in her words.

Kargil

Kargil
Author: Rachna Bisht Rawat
Publisher: Penguin Random House India Private Limited
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2019-08-19
Genre: Literary Collections
ISBN: 9353055911

Why does a group of stranded paratroopers call for Bofors' fire upon its own position? Why is an old man in Palampur fighting for justice for his dead soldier son? What makes a martyr's father visit a young Kashmiri girl every year? Kargil takes you into the treacherous mountains where some of Indian Army's bloodiest battles were fought. Interviewing war survivors and martyrs' families, Rachna Bisht Rawat tells stories of extraordinary human courage, of not just men in uniform but also those who loved them the most. With its gritty stories of incomparable bravery, Kargil is a tribute to the 527 young braves who gave up their lives for us-and the many who were ready to do it too.

Letters from Kargil

Letters from Kargil
Author: Diksha Dwivedi
Publisher: Juggernaut Books
Total Pages: 168
Release: 2017
Genre: Fathers and daughters
ISBN: 9386228432

In May 1999, India was invaded by Pakistan in Kargil, Ladakh, in a surprise attack. Diksha Dwivedi's father was one of the martyrs of that war. In this extremely moving book, she tells the story of the Kargil war through the letters and diaries of her father and other soldiers who fought there.

Calling Sehmat

Calling Sehmat
Author: Harinder Sikka
Publisher: Penguin Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2018
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780143442301

The year is 1971 Tension is brewing between India and Pakistan One secret could change the course of history . . . It's now up to her When a young college-going Kashmiri girl, Sehmat, gets to know her dying father's last wish, she can do little but surrender to his passion and patriotism and follow the path he has so painstakingly laid out. It is the beginning of her transformation from an ordinary girl into a deadly spy. She's then married off to the son of a well-connected Pakistani general, and her mission is to regularly pass information to the Indian intelligence. Something she does with extreme courage and bravado, till she stumbles on information that could destroy the naval might of her beloved country. Inspired from real events, Calling Sehmat . . . is an espionage thriller that brings to life the story of this unsung heroine of war.

21 Kesaris

21 Kesaris
Author: Kiran Nirvan
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2019-05-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 9389000416

10,000 Afghans. 21 Sikh soldiers. One epic battle. On 12 September 1897, 21 soldiers of 36th Sikh regiment stood undeterred as they guarded the post of Saragarhi against the onslaught of almost 10,000 Afghan tribesmen – a battle for the ages that ended in them laying down their lives in a final hand-to-hand combat. The unparalleled heroics of these 21 men have, however, been long forgotten by history. What led to the Battle of Saragarhi? What was the socio-political scenario at the time? Who were these tribesmen and why did they attack an outpost in such great numbers? Who were the 21 soldiers and how were they able to keep the enemy at bay against all odds? Based on colonial era records and information provided by the 4th Sikh battalion, the legatee unit of 36th Sikhs, 21 Kesaris attempts to answer these questions while paying homage to the brave soldiers who defended the 'kesari' flag – depicting their Khalsa heritage – with their last breaths.

Vijyant at Kargil

Vijyant at Kargil
Author: V N Thapar
Publisher: Penguin Random House India Private Limited
Total Pages: 223
Release: 2020-05-15
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9353058279

'By the time you get this letter, I'll be observing you all from the sky. I have no regrets, in fact even if I become a human again, I'll join the army and fight for my nation.' This was the last letter Captain Vijyant Thapar wrote to his family. He was twenty-two when he was martyred in the Kargil War, having fought bravely in the crucial battles of Tololing and Knoll. A fourth-generation army officer, Vijyant dreamt of serving his country even as a young boy. In this first-ever biography, we learn about his journey to join the Indian Military Academy and the experiences that shaped him into a fine officer. Told by his father and Neha Dwivedi, a martyr's daughter herself, the anecdotes from his family and close friends come alive, and we have a chance to know the exceptional young man that Vijyant was. His inspiring story provides a rare glimpse into the heart of a brave soldier. His legacy stays alive through these fond memories and his service to the country.

ONCE THERE WAS ME

ONCE THERE WAS ME
Author: Bobby Sachdeva
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Total Pages:
Release: 2020-06-25
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9389109531

Caught in the web of communal violence repeatedly, Bobby Sachdeva stares at his burning house set afire by the bloodthirsty mob of the anti-Sikh riots in Delhi. As a fourteenyear- old, his world turns upside down, exactly at the age his father had escaped from Pakistan during the Partition of India. Recovering from the trauma, Bobby re-builds his business and journeys across the US and China, experiencing a life unhindered by religious animosity. Having experienced both sides of religion – of immersion and detachment – he starts questioning the role of religion in our lives. Based on his vision of an emergent India, Bobby finally submits a PIL in the Supreme Court for religious shrines to distribute their excess income for the downtrodden. What happens next as religious hardliners turn against him?

Nasteya

Nasteya
Author: Kirandeep Singh
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 260
Release: 2018-11-10
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9387863115

Everything he had, everyone he loved is taken away from him. His enemy is mysterious with a hidden, ominous identity. His origin is a puzzle. His purpose is gigantic. The only thing keeping him alive is vengeance. A journey awaits Nasteya, and it's the one that will change everything for him - his identity, his motive. There are many unprecedented horrors at every step - troubles bigger than his own. Power shall either corrupt him or redeem him. What will he choose? Will he hold on to his heroic image? Will he be able to unearth the mystery of his origin and that of his enemy? As time goes by, at each step he discovers what fate has planned for him at every step and that he is just a part of a grand plan, a plan that will ensure he finds all the answers he is looking for.

A Girl to Remember

A Girl to Remember
Author: Ajay K Pandey,
Publisher: Sristhi Publishers & Distributors
Total Pages: 186
Release: 2019
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9387022390

In every angel a demon hides, And in every demon, an angel strides. Neel is a self-proclaimed demon, a slave to his desires, putting at stake even the purest of relationships for it. He lives for himself, takes life as it comes, and considers people who love as emotional fools. When he first sets his eyes on his new landlady, a widow who is eleven years older to him, all he can see is an opportunity. He has a plan to get rich and is working hard to achieve it, until he bumps into Pihu. She is an immature teenager who likes Neel for no apparent reason, and blindly believes that he is the angel who will take away all her life's troubles. Neel hates Pihu for her unexplained obsession, and her being a hindrance in his plan, but her firm resolve to see a good person in him shakes Neel to the core. Will Pihu make a difference? Does inner transformation come to a man who has gone to a point of no return? A Girl to Remember is an emotional roller coaster which will make you believe that confession is the best punishment.