From Kurukshetra to Sindoor: A look at India's battlefields

Colonel Ajay Singh had written what can be considered as the most comprehensive account of India's battles, covering 42 of India's most significant battles over 5,000 years right from the epic battle at Kurukshetra to Balakot in 2019.

- Maj Gen Jagatbir Singh, VSM (RETD) NEW DELHI

The updated edition of this book has now been published by Pentagon Press which includes Operation Sindoor, providing a comprehensive overview of the four-day encounter between India and Pakistan, right from the background, the conduct of operations and the aftermath.

Each battle comes alive as an individual story, complete with maps and pictures. The story of Indian warfare can be read at various levels, the first being an account of the battles and more importantly is the thread that runs through these battles drawing out lessons relevant even today.

Ajay makes it clear in the preface itself, "Indian warriors were invariably skilful and individually very brave and courageous. But military leaders neglected the organizational structure of their armies. They did not adapt to new concepts of warfare and often remained rooted in the past. Nor did they embrace technology... They were always too busy battling each other instead of an outsider. And that was the cause of their defeat and for the centuries of subjugation that followed."

Most of the battles described in the book give out one singular message: victory favours the one who employs mobility in warfare and innovates concepts. Employment of tanks at Zoji-La in 1948, the move towards Dhaka in 1971, and the Balakot strike highlight this truth. In Kurukshetra, the two supreme commanders met and framed "rules of ethical conduct", "Dharmayuddha". Yet, all the participants broke the rules of dharma, and twisted it to suit their ends. However, the "concept of dharma and of fighting only righteous wars" remained in the Indian psyche for centuries thereafter.

The book skilfully traces multiple themes across centuries. Alexander faced his most formidable foe Porus in 326 BC. The book talks about how Indians actually broke the formidable Greek phalanx and fought them to a standstill. Even the Greeks called them "the most courageous foe we faced."