India's Wars: A Military History, 1947-1971 Review "This book is a good introduction to the subject. It is generally quite detailed when it comes to the IAF.... The author has a definite political and ideological agenda [and] the details are accurate.... Well worth a read." --Brown Pundits "India's Wars is an eminently readable work on the Indian military and India's experiences with wars over a period of roughly twenty-five years after independence. Given the serious neglect of military history in the understanding of India's contemporary history (post-1947), this is a notable contribution.... Subramaniam has provided us with a useful and thought-provoking book on India's wars until 1971, and one hopes that the next volume on the period after the Bangladesh War will be equally engaging." --H-Asia "Retired Indian Air Vice Marshal Subramaniam, who is now an instructor at the Indian National Defence College, has produced a comprehensive history of India's armed forces and their wars, from the First Indo-Pakistan War in 1947, which was sparked by partition and independence through the Third, sometimes known as the Bangladesh War in 1971.... Subramaniam's treatment of policy, strategy, and operations is very good, and his description of tactical encounters are well written, integrating air, ground, and naval operations as appropriate, and are pretty easy to follow.... India's Wars offers an excellent overview of Indian military history since independence for both the professional military historian or the interested layman." --StrategyPage "The battle for Goa was an early example of a combined operation for the Indian military, combining land, air, and sea elements. It is one small piece of a growing heritage for that nation, a history that is well told in this book. The work is impressive in its readability and clarity, as the author does not presume any foreknowledge of his subject and strives to make clear a subject relatively unknown in the Western world. The work deftly traces India's military origins in the 20th century." --Military Heritage "[Subramaniam] offers a richly detailed history of India's wars with Pakistan, China, and Portugal as well as a balanced appraisal of India's military wartime performance, highlighting successes and failures." --Military Officer "Arjun Subramaniam has blazed a trail for other Indian military officers to follow. By carefully analyzing India's early post-independence wars from a joint perspective, he has contributed toward improving not only professional military education in India, but hopefully the conduct of Indian national security policy itself. A magnificent achievement!" --Ashley J. Tellis, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace "Deftly telescoping six decades of India's conflicts in a single volume, Arjun Subramaniam presents an objective and compelling tri-service narrative which I found hard to put down. He joins a select band of service officers who have, in the tradition of Thucydides, shown the intellectual acumen as well as courage and perseverance to put pen to paper while still in uniform." --Admiral Arun Prakash, Indian Navy, (Ret.), former Chief of Naval Staff and Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee "India's Wars is a very readable and fascinating book that is not simply a recitation of events, but a work punctuated with insights that can be realized only by someone who participated in the events. Providing views of India's military pioneers not previously available, it also addresses the political interactions that are integral to conflict. This is a timely book yielding understanding of India's military history when India's influence on critical geopolitical events is growing." --Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula, USAF (Ret.); Dean of the Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Power Studies "In this turbulent twenty-first century, the rise of India will be critical for understanding global geopolitics. This superb overview of India's military history in the twentieth century is essential to appreciate the role of India in the decades to come." --Adm. James Stavridis, USN (Ret.), sixteenth Supreme Allied Commander, NATO; Dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University 				    	 					 About the Author Arjun Subramaniam is a serving Air Vice Marshal in the Indian Air Force. A fighter pilot who has commanded a fighter squadron and a large flying base, he also has a PhD in Defence and Strategic Studies. A prolific writer and speaker on military history, air power and national security, he is currently posted as a faculty member at the National Defence College, New Delhi.