Former army chief General Manoj Naravane on Saturday said it was “not warranted” to unnecessarily quote and drag him into the limelight for his unpublished memoir Four Stars of Destiny.

The book’s alleged leak had touched off a political storm after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi cited passages that purportedly portrayed the country’s top political leadership as indecisive during a Chinese advance in Ladakh in August 2020.

Naravane said dragging his unpublished memoir into controversy was “not warranted” and called it a “closed chapter”. The general, who has just published The Curious and the Classified: Unearthing Military Myths and Mysteries, said he had moved past the issue.

“The ministry of defence had asked the publisher to put it (Four Stars of Destiny) on hold till it was vetted. As far as I am concerned, the matter rested there, and I have moved on… so that is a closed chapter. And unnecessarily quoting me and dragging the unpublished book into the limelight and indirectly me to the limelight was, I think, not warranted,” Naravane was quoted as saying in an interview to PTI.

He was the army chief from December 2019 to April 2022, which saw the deadly Galwan clash in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed.

After the row over his unpublished memoir, Naravane’s writing journey has shifted direction. His latest book is “supposed to be an entertaining read and not a serious academic endeavour”.

His latest book, brought out by Rupa Publications, looks at several interesting stories linked to the traditions and history of the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force.

In the book, Naravane explains how the military greeting “Jai Hind” began during the freedom movement and later became part of the armed forces.

He said “Jai Hind” was first adopted by the IAF and was later taken up by the army and the navy. He also pointed out that salutes were earlier done in silence, while different regiments used their own greetings, such as “Sat Sri Akal” or “Ram Ram”.

The debate

In February, Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi cited in Parliament “excerpts” from the memoir that reportedly claimed the top political leadership in Delhi failed to give clear directions to then army chief Naravane while Chinese tanks were advancing towards Indian territory.

Rahul was disallowed from referring to the book inside Parliament and was shouted down by the Treasury benches. Defence minister Rajnath Singh told the Lok Sabha that Rahul could not be allowed to refer to a book that had not been published.

A day later, Rahul carried a hardbound copy of the purported book inside the Parliament complex and challenged the government’s claim that the book “does not exist”.

Amid the controversy, the publisher — Penguin Randomhouse India — said Naravane’s memoir “had not gone into publication”, and it held exclusive publishing rights to the memoir. Rahul countered this, citing a December 2023 social media post by Naravane that said his book was “available now”.

The issue escalated, and Delhi police filed an FIR alleging unauthorised circulation of the book. Sources in the security establishment said the defence ministry had also ordered an inquiry into how a book, which had not been given clearance for publication, reached the press and how Rahul managed to get hold of a copy. The government had withheld permission for the book’s publication in India just ahead of its launch in April 2024.