At a book-signing event for his novel ‘The Cantonment Conspiracy,’ former Indian Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane was questioned about his future writing plans. According to news agency ANI’s report from Pune on Friday, he informed reporters that he is now focused solely on fiction writing. Former Chief of Army Staff General MM Naravane’s autobiography ‘Four Stars of Destiny’ is still unpublished and lies at the heart of a significant political controversy. (Photo from PTI archives). It arrived about seven weeks after his sole non-fiction work — the unpublished memoir ‘Four Stars of Destiny,’ awaiting government approval — had shaken the nation’s Parliament. Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition, attempted to quote excerpts from it to claim that the BJP government’s policy was feeble against China amid the 2020 border clashes. “I’ve consistently written periodically, not just military reports but also for various army academic journals.” I had also penned a few short stories, one of which was published in the magazine Femina. “He said he is now solely interested in writing fiction,” he was quoted as stating in Pune. Regarding his novel ‘The Cantonment Conspiracy’, released last year, he remarked, “I’m pleased to report that the book is doing relatively well for a debut author who didn’t know how to write.” Writing this book has been a fascinating journey, marking my shift from soldier to storyteller.
