The siege of Warwan by Major General G. D. Bakshi

"The siege of Warwan" by Major General G. D. Bakshi. This book is published by Harpercollins in 2011 and has 292 pages.

Major Dushyant Bharadwaj, Dusty, asks for a deputation to Rashtriya Rifles to get a posting in Kashmir. There is a reason for that. Here he wants to employ a local friendly and terrorist hostile strategy. He meets beautiful Ayesha and her son Javed. Terrorists want revenge. Battle of Warwan is set.

Why does Dusty want Kashmir posting? Will his people friendly strategy work? Who is Ayesha? How does the siege go?

It is known that the foreign terrorists get support from local Kashmiris. This book exposes the other side of the coin. These male foreign terrorists want female company. In the early days of terrorism Kashmiri girls were more than willing, but when terrorists started to go back after completion of their assignment leaving pregnant girls behind, locals started resisting. It resulted in the terrorists getting what they want at gun point often while the husband of the woman being ravished sat outside the house till the ordeal was over. Terrorists demand heavy ransom and when poor Kashmiris can't pay, they are forced to send one son for the cause. The recruited local young boys are also sexually exploited by the terrorists. 

The foreign terrorists consider local Kashmiris spineless and cowards who can't fight India. They consider themselves superior for fighting the war of Kashmiri's. They consider they have right over Kashmiri women and that it is the duty of these Houries to pleasure the guest terrorists.

It is the story of Dusty, an honest and compassionate army officer. He meets Javed whose mother Ayesha is raped by a terrorist whenever he wants her. Ayesha had loved a boy who became terrorist. She was married to a Pir and had Javed. Unwittingly she becomes a target of a foreign terrorist and is raped again and again. Her sons initiative and Dusty's bravery saves her but she and her son become target of the terrorists.

The build up of story is at a leisurely pace. Story is interesting. Narration is good with a lot of words from army vocabulary. It portrays the humane face of army where army led by Dusty earns the trust of Astor village. It also depicts the difficulties and hardships faced by army and common Kashmiris due to terrorism.

Warwan is a post maintained by helicopter (heli-maintained) due to difficult land access. Operation Golden Eagle was the first successful surgical heliborne operation and became a pioneering example of heliborne counter insurgency operations.

The question that needs to be pondered is 'If the foreign terrorists treat the Kashmiris with such a disdain, why do they get local support? One can't get the support just out of fear or religion'. Is something being done to exploit this and turn the Kashmiris away from terrorism and towards normalcy and prosperity?

Book cover is good with blue and white colors suggesting early morning or late evening glow and army jawans rappling down a hovering helicopter on a mountain back drop.

Why did I read this book? Kashmir war novel.    

What I didn't like? Page length of actual siege. 

What did I like? Ground situation description. 

Recommend reading.