Genre: Non-fiction
Publisher: Juggernaut
Pages: 168
Published: August 2017
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Summary:
With feet deep in snow and alert with their guns, our soldiers are responding to each threat from the enemy with twice the intensity and vigour, but my heart is somewhere else.’ In May 1999, India was invaded by Pakistan in Kargil in the Ladakh region in a surprise attack. Diksha Dwivedi’s father was one of the martyrs of that war. In this beautiful, extremely moving book, she tells the story of the Kargil war through the letters and diaries of her father and other soldiers who fought there. Intimate and emotional, Letters from Kargil is the most human and personal portrait of the war ever written
Review:
“527 killed, 1363 wounded.” That is how history would probably remember the Kargil war. But a martyr is a lot more than a statistic. When the Kargil war was brought into our living rooms thanks to the news channels, people saw the human face of war. Men of real flesh and blood. Ordinary men with extraordinary courage.
As an army kid, I have grown up hearing stories about soldiers and wars. When I saw the book featured on Juggernaut on Vijay Diwas, I had to pick it up. The book also features on my recommendation list, Short Reads that Pack a Punch.
Letters from Kargil: The Kargil War Through Our Soldiers’ Eyes by Diksha Dwivedi is an extremely moving book that is a compilation of letters sent by soldiers during Kargil war. In most cases, it was the last letter the family received. How does one review something so personal?
The author, a daughter of a Kargil war martyr set out to share the letters not just from her father but the other soldiers as well. The book is a raw first-hand account of the war through the eyes of the soldiers. It has some intimate letters. Letters to wives, to children, to parents, to fiances and girlfriends, to siblings. The letters are about hope, about valor, and also with an undertone of the inevitability. Letters promising to “write back soon”. Most of the soldiers whose letters have been featured in the book did not return.
Along with the letters, the book traces the events leading to and during the war. The author also raised a pertinent question towards the end of the book. Why do we celebrate only those martyrs who make the news? What about the countless soldiers from the services and the paramilitary who lay down their life every other day. Is their sacrifice any less?
I highly recommend the book. It is a must-read, and particularly for those warmongers who demand India go to war at the drop of a hat. Martyrs leave behind proud but broken families.
An extremely moving book that is a compilation of letters sent by soldiers during the Kargil war. Letters from Kargil by @dikshadwivedi Book Review #BohoPonderings #MyFriendAlexa Share on XLetters from Kargil: The Kargil War Through Our Soldiers’ Eyes by Diksha Dwivedi is available for purchase at Amazon India
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September 25, 2019 @ 10:58 am
Going to order a copy after the MyFriendAlexa campaign. You mentioned this book in one other post of yours too. I can’t wait to read those letters compiled in the book. Bookmarked !
September 25, 2019 @ 11:15 am
That is great, Srishti. It is a must read. It may sound rhetoric, but it does make you question the futility of war.
September 25, 2019 @ 11:23 am
I’m sure this one is going to be high on emotions and I would love to read it. While we are at it, I recommend “Hari Muskrahaton wala collage” in case you read hindi books.
September 25, 2019 @ 4:43 pm
It definitely is, Sonia. Thank you for the recommendation. I will check it out. It has been a while since I read a book in hindi.
September 26, 2019 @ 7:45 pm
This sounds great. Adding it to my TBR. Thank you!
September 26, 2019 @ 10:40 pm
I highly recommend it, Shantala.
A Decade in Books: How my Reading Habit has Evolved through the 2010s – Bohemian Bibliophile
January 28, 2020 @ 2:27 pm
[…] newbies could give established authors a run for their money. Two of my favorites, Jasmine Days and Letters from Kargil were Juggernaut reads. The app has come a long way from being author-centric to reader-friendly. […]