Kitne Ghazi Aaye, Kine Ghazi Gaye - Lt Gen K J S Dhillon

 Mythily gave me this book and asked me to read. It's the life story of Lt Gen KJS Dhillon, known as Tiny, in the army circles, written with a view to encourage those who wish to join the armed forces. It is well written and honest and gives a good insight into the army life.

Lt Gen Dhillon has pretty much grown up in the shadow of the armed forces - thought his father was a civil engineer who settled down in Nepal, he lost his mother at a young age as she fought off a tiger which attacked his father. She lost her life and he feels much of his courage seems to have come from her. Sent away to live with his granny he grew up watching his Mamaji who was an army person and slowly moved into the armed forces writing the NDA exam, life as a cadet in Pune, and then joining the Rajputana Rifles. He served almost entirely in Kashmir and pretty much saw the whole story from up close - the rise of terrorism to the abrogation of Article 370.

The title refers to the terrorist Kamran who was involved in the Pulwama attack and who was eliminated within 100 hours of the attack. His nickname was Ghazi and this title comes from the author's childhood line when he would tackle an adversary in a game of marbles - he has seen many such. He writes about the family life in the army, how the discipline helps, how they all look out for one another, seniors taking care of subs and subs fully devoted to their officers, the fun and games, the dangers, injuries and death - they handled it all together. There were times when his wife mistakenly thought he had passed away in an encounter when the media reported it mistakenly but held on. He writes extensively about Kashmir, its people, culture, the rise of terrorism, Pulwama, the initiatives to integrate the society and stop young men from joining the terrorists, how they handled the post-abrogation situation and kept it peaceful. 

The Fourth Battalion of Rajputana Rifles has a fierce reputation and they say - sirf naam his kaafi hai. Also other mottos like their commitment to - naam, namak and nishan and such stuff are well brought out. There's a lot of humour, compassion, humility and insight into leadership and team building and dealing with tough situation. Leader being sabse aage being one of their principles.

I enjoyed reading it. Thanks Mythily.