Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

PM releases a book titled "1965 War - Inside Story"

"I am delighted to release my friend, Shri R.D. Pradhan's book. It is a labour of love and with good reasons. Shri Yashwantraoji Chavan, whose diary is the basis of this book, was one of our tallest national leaders in the post-Independence period. He was a great son of Maharashtra and a truly pan-Indian personality. Like Shri R.D. Pradhan, I had the privilege of working very closely with Shri Y.B. Chavan when he was our Finance Minister. I learnt a great deal from him in gaining awareness of various factors shaping our polity and economy. He was a great patriot and was deeply committed to both growth and social equity.

I am happy that Shri Pradhan has published this book, making available to the public the thinking of Shri Chavan on a matter of great national importance. Yashwantraoji was a thinking politician and a thinking man's politician. Having made his mark on the important political stage of Maharashtra, Yashwantraoji arrived on the national scene at a momentous time. Panditji picked him to succeed the redoubtable V.K. Krishna Menon. Few in the country could have stepped into Krishna Menon's shoes with greater ease than Yashwantraoji did. He served both Panditji and Indiraji with great distinction.

Yashwantraoji took little time in widening his horizons and growing in stature as a national leader. His grasp of administration, his understanding of national issues, his keen interest in matters relating to national security and economic policy stood him in good stead.

Shri Pradhan has done great service both to the memory of Shri Chavan and to public policy in our country by publishing this book. The book helps us understand the mind of Shri Chavan and that of our national leaders during a critical phase in our recent history. I think civil servants have a responsibility to record for posterity the factors that shaped decision-making on important issues. There is a stronger tradition of such scholarship in the West, aided by access to government papers. I compliment Shri Pradhan for taking the trouble to put together this book.

What comes through this book is the mature and balanced relationship that existed, and continues to exist, in our country between our political and military leadership. India stands as a shining example of a democracy with highly professional armed forces, working in a disciplined manner under civilian leadership.

We have good reasons to be proud of this inheritance of our freedom movement and we must jealously guard it. All around us, and in much of the developing world, we see short-lived experiments in democracy snuffed out by soldiers in uniform.

What Shri Pradhan's book shows is that it is not just in normal and peace-time that the civil-military relationship is normal and well-oiled, but even during times of national crisis and war. The 1962 war, the 1965 war and the 1971 war were important tests for a newly liberated, poor developing country like ours. Given the fact that we were still a young nation, barely integrated, such external threats could have been used to upset the balance in the civil-military relationship.

If this did not happen it was because of the wisdom of our national leadership and the maturity and patriotism of our military leaders. They worked together and stood as one, and the fundamental basis of our democratic and Republican Constitution was never questioned. We should feel truly proud of this heritage. I believe even today the professionalism and discipline of our men in uniform is one of our great national assets. We are truly proud of our soldiers and our officers. Their professionalism, not just in the battlefield, but in dealing with natural disasters and disruption of normal civilian life also makes us proud.

Reading the book, I was struck by the sagacity and wisdom of Shri Chavan on the issue of India- Pakistan relations and the issue of Jammu and Kashmir. Yashwantraoji took a determined and considered view that there could be no military solution to the Kashmir issue. He was convinced that any lasting solution has to be a politically negotiated one. According to his diary notes, reproduced in this book by Shri Pradhan, Yashwantraoji expressed this view in the thick of the battle. It shows a keen strategic mind at work. Fully in command of the battle of the day, yet aware of the long term solution to the conflict at hand, Yashwantraoji was both a good tactical planner and a wise strategic thinker.

There should be no doubt in anyone's mind that we are prepared and determined to deal with any threat to our national security in the appropriate manner. Our armed forces are always ready to deal with any such challenge. Equally, we have the wisdom and the courage to say that the only lasting solution to any political or bilateral dispute is one that is negotiated through dialogue and discussion, and is arrived at honorably and to the satisfaction of all. That was, I believe, the burden of Yashwantraoji's jottings in his diary. I hope Shri Pradhan's labour of love will inspire others like him to similarly illuminate our public life by throwing light on the thinking of our policy makers. I wish Shri Pradhan a long and happy life. May his path be blessed."