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Book review: Nagrota Under Siege is an emotional narrative of 2016 militant attack in J&K on an Indian Army regiment
On Indian Army Day (January 15) here's a review of author Bhaavna Arora's book that recounts the 2016 militant attack on an Army unit in Jammu and Kashmir.
The interest in the feats and victories of our armed forces has often been documented in cinema — IB71 (2023), Major (2022), Shershaah (2021), Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl (2020), and Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019) are a few examples. As dramatised account of wartime events narrating real-life stories of uniformed men continue to inspire, the events unfold in the book Nagrota Under Siege, a 256-pager.
This fervent tribute to our troops is crisp and sans any flounces. It’s nothing short of a screenplay that can very well form another actioner highlighting the sheer grit, determination, sacrifice, and most importantly, patriotism of Indian armed forces. The non-linear narrative follows the attack by three Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) militants on an army unit in Nagrota (Jammu and Kashmir) on 29 November 2016. The deadly attack leads to numerous gun fights and the army neutralising all three militants. But the hostage situation leads seven soldiers, including two officers of senior rank, to martyrdom.
The extensive interviews, real photos (provided by personnel and families), and back stories that are simultaneously heartwarming and gut-wrenching, make this novel an addition to an illustrious library of tributes to our armed forces. It may seem easy on the surface to capture unflinching heroism in the face of the ultimate enemy — death — but Arora’s writing must get a pat for not caricaturising the heroes. Instead, the writing shows them as fallible children, lovelorn teens, awkward lovers, shy newlyweds, doting parents, and dutiful children. By bringing forth the beating hearts who still mourn the individuals behind the heroes, the author opens the blinds to the unwavering support system that every soldier, who dedicates life to the country, not only needs but also deserves!
Title: Nagrota Under Siege
Author: Bhaavna Arora
Publisher: Penguin
Price: ₹299
