Gen Vij’s memoir succinctly covers the evolving geopolitical landscape and provides crucial insights into the dynamics of decision-making and leadership for people of all walks of life.
The debt we owe
While they fought, bled, and died in the Kargil Heights;
We slept blissful nights.
Our soldiers still stand guard in the cold and heat;
Never complain, so we can live.
Let us be grateful and bow our heads;
Pay our homage to those who went and never came back;
Who in spirit still guards our sacred motherland.
The debt we owe cannot be paid;
We still sleep a blissful night.
“Alone in the Ring: Decision-making in Critical Times” is a memoir written by General Nirmal Chander Vij PVSM, UYSM, and AVSM. This book could not have been released at a better time after India launched Operation Sindoor to target Jihadi Terror Camps in Pakistan Punjab, its heart. For those who remember the attack on our Parliament, this book will act as a catharsis in the form of “Operation Prakram to Operation Sindoor,” which is a transition between two distinct Indian military operations and political will.
In this book, General Vij shares his experiences, insights, and challenges faced during his illustrious career, few have experienced in the Indian Army. But what this book covers is the last five years of his service could be ordained as cometh the hour, cometh the man.
During that time, he was The General officer commanding IV Corps, the Director General of Military Operation (DGMO) during the Kargil war, the Vice Chief of Army Staff and finally the Chief of Army Staff. The memoir provides a detailed account of his leadership during significant military operations and his efforts to modernise and strengthen the Indian Army. It also delves into his reflections and the lessons he learned throughout his service.
Alone in the Ring: Decision-making in Critical Times is not just a biography of Gen Vij’s military career. It is a detailed analysis of some of his decisions, and it talks about his triumphs and his trials. The book reads very humbly for a man who had accomplished so much and reflects why we need people who dare to tell the truth to power, lest he regards that as ‘Dereliction of Duty’ as a soldier.
Commissioned into the Indian Army on 11 December 1962, when India suffered the ignoble defeat at the hands of the Chinese, was perhaps the reason he became one of those soldiers who did not hesitate to fight but made sure he was fully prepared when the time came to fight.
So, as the chief, his mantra was never to go ‘half-prepared‘ and perhaps Operation Sindoor had his influence.
The book is not just a biography of Gen Vij's military career but is a detailed analysis of some of his decisions and it talks about his triumphs and his trials.
This type of thinking can be justified by some of the important decisions he took as a senior commander and then as the Army chief. Under his leadership, the bold decision was taken to construct a 740-kilometre fence along the Line of Control, from the river Chenab to Zozila Pass. This fencing significantly altered the security landscape of the former Jammu and Kashmir state, and its impact is still significant.
Also, ‘Operation Khukri‘, a military triumph perhaps lost to history,y provides a gripping narrative of the rescue of 222 Indian peacekeepers in Sierra Leone. However, Bollywood is in the mood to make a film based on this operation starring Shah Rukh Khan, Ayushmann Khurrana, and Rajkummar Rao in lead roles, and hopefully, it will not make a meal out of it and at the same time get the uniforms and insignias correct.
As the DGMO, he writes about Kargil and his conversation with his opposite number from Pakistan and how he presented evidence of Indian troops burying Pakistani regular army soldiers with honour and dignity as per their religion, Islam. It is made clear that Major General Tauqir Zia, though he denied that the dead were Pakistani army regulars, was embarrassed as he knew it was the truth and as the general write,s “lying is perhaps a second nature or maybe even a compulsion in the Pakistani Army” (Page No 34).
In his book, General Vij boldly explores Operation Parakram in detail and the objectives it failed to achieve due to political indecisions and the high number of casualties the army suffered during mobilisation and demobilisation. Operation Parakram was initiated after the aftermath of the attack on the Indian Parliament by Pakistani-backed Islamic terrorists.
However, the Indian Army has the habit of learning from its mistakes and the learning of Operation Parakram conceptualized one of the boldest and most intelligent military doctrines, ‘The Cold Start Doctrine’. This doctrine which is now being openly discussed gave the Pakistan Army nightmares but I leave it to the readers to do further research on this subject.
Gen Vij was not only an able commander but also an astute administrator and was responsible for several reforms that made the lives of officers, soldiers and their families a little bit easier.
Under his leadership, he addressed the issues like jointness, integration, and theaterisation of commands, which are crucial today as we face the prospect of a two-front war. These points highlight that the Indian armed forces and their leadership can learn from both positive and negative experiences. Also, he was the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee during the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004.
Gen Vij was not only an able commander but also an astute administrator and was responsible for several reforms that made the lives of officers, soldiers and their families a little bit easier. He decided to improve career prospects in the army, worked with the government to ensure health care was made available to veterans for quality medical coverage, the Army welfare education system and built accommodations for married officers, Jawans and the JCOs.
However, what is endearing and a testament to his character is the letter he wrote fifteen days before he retired to over 30,000 officers in the Indian Army and it is worth reading over a few times.
“Alone in the Ring” is a book that signals those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Gen Vij’s memoir succinctly covers the evolving geopolitical landscape and provides crucial insights into the dynamics of decision-making, and leadership for people of all walks of life.
(Excerpts from the book have been slightly paraphrased for the sake of continuity.)
Book: Alone in the Ring: Decision-making in Critical Times
Author: COAS General Nirmal Chander Vij PVSM, UYSM, AVSM
Publishers: Bloomsbury India
Price: ₹475
SW Ratings: *****
Balaji is a freelance writer with an MA in History and Political science and has published articles on defence and strategic affairs and book reviews. He tweets @LaxmanShriram78. Views expressed are the author’s own.
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