New book to tell untold stories from Kargil War

On the 20th anniversary of the Kargil War, a new book will revisit the freezing battle grounds of the 1999 conflict through untold stories of its bravest soldiers.

Titled, "Kargil: Untold stories from the War", the book published by Penguin Random House, is authored by Rachna Bisht Rawat.

The book that is based on Rawat's interviews with war survivors and martyrs' families, will take the readers to the treacherous Himalayan mountains where some of the Indian Army's bloodiest battles were fought.

The war, which lasted for nearly three months, initiated in the May of 1999 in an effort to displace Pakistani soldiers from the peaks they had occupied on the Indian side of the Line of Control (LoC).

India won the war, but lost over 500 soldiers.

"I marvelled at how men who are fathers, sons, brothers, husbands, lovers, just laced up their boots and went to war, honouring their sole responsibility as soldiers. 527 young soldiers never came back from Kargil," Rawat said.

She added that the book will feature stories of "extraordinary human courage" of not just the men in uniform, but also of their families.

"This book is a tribute to their courage and to that of their families, who have faced their loss with such dignity. We are under their debt... a debt that can never be repaid," the author said.

The publishers said through the anthology they wanted to honour the 527 bravehearts who gave up their lives for the country.

"This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Kargil War and this book is our tribute to the many brave soldiers who fought valiantly in the war and gave up their lives to protect the honour of the nation," said Gurveen Chaddha, commissioning editor, Penguin Random House India.

The book that will hit stands in August, is also available for pre-order on e-commerce websites.