The present memoir is therefore at the more welcome, not only because it comes from the pen of one who is an established writer and commentator on military affairs but also because, as Director of Military Operations that fateful period, he both witnessed and took part in the processes through which at Army Headquarters during government policies were formulated and the decision taken to go to war against the Chinese, in circumstances that must have indicated inevitable catastrophe

General Palit describes with refreshing candor the ad hoc nature of the decision- making apparatus at prime ministerial and cabinet levels, the lack of any semblance of coordinated staff analyses, the over-reach of government into the responsibilities of the military, and the quiescence of the latter in permitting it. He is uninhibited in recording facts as he saw them and the opinions he held at the time, though always careful to distinguish between that and hind-sight rationalization. While commenting on the actions of others the author is also frankly and disarmingly self-critical

In an attempt to explain the historical causes for the almost total lack of inter-face between the government and the military, a leitmotiv that runs through the narrative. the author has made an interesting analysis of the ethos of the Indian Army as it has developed during the British-Indian period, an inheritance from the colonial past that remained unchanged despite forty-five years of independence. In a fascinating postscript the author demonstrates that this malfunctioning of the government's national security system continues to the present day.

Bom in 1919, Major General D.K. Palit followed to try tradition by accepting a commission in the Indian Army, Sun Regiment in the Second World War and with the Baluch partition of India, winning one of India's highest military honors, the Vic. After further active service in Kashmir and Ladakh, 1951-60, he was appointed Director of Military Operations, Army Headquarters, in 1961. He was promoted to Major General in 1963 and fought in the 1965 war against Pakistan. A noted military historian, General Palit is author of over a dozen books including War in the Deterrent Age (Macdonald, 1966).