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No Indian spymaster has, until now, written a memoir. A.S. Dulat is the first to do so, and in A Life in the Shadows he does it with considerable elan. He is one of India's most successful spymasters, his name synonymous with the Kashmir issue. His methods of engagement and accommodation with all people and perspectives from India's most conflicted state are legendary. The author of two bestselling books, Kashmir: The Vajpayee Years (2014) and The Spy Chronicles: R&AW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace (2018), Dulat's views on India, Pakistan and Kashmir are well-known and sought after. Yet very little is known about him, primarily because the former spymaster has been notoriously private about his personal life. In this unusual and unique memoir, Dulat breaks that silence for the first time. This is not a traditional, linear narrative as much as a selection of stories from across space and time. Still bound by the rules of secrecy of his trade, he tells a fascinating story of a life richly lived and insightfully observed. From a Partition-bloodied childhood in Lahore and New Delhi to his early years as a young intelligence officer; from meetings with international spymasters to travels around the world; from his observations on Kashmir-political and personal-post the abrogation of Article 370, to his encounters with world leaders, politicians and celebrities; moving from Bhopal to Nepal and from Kashmir to China, Dulat tells the story of his life with remarkable honesty, verve and wit.

No Indian spymaster has, until now, written a memoir. A.S. Dulat is the first to do so, and in A Life in the Shadows he does it with considerable elan. He is one of India's most successful spymasters, his name synonymous with the Kashmir issue. His methods of engagement and accommodation with all people and perspectives from India's most conflicted state are legendary. The author of two bestselling books, Kashmir: The Vajpayee Years (2014) and The Spy Chronicles: R&AW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace (2018), Dulat's views on India, Pakistan and Kashmir are well-known and sought after. Yet very little is known about him, primarily because the former spymaster has been notoriously private about his personal life. In this unusual and unique memoir, Dulat breaks that silence for the first time. This is not a traditional, linear narrative as much as a selection of stories from across space and time. Still bound by the rules of secrecy of his trade, he tells a fascinating story of a life richly lived and insightfully observed. From a Partition-bloodied childhood in Lahore and New Delhi to his early years as a young intelligence officer; from meetings with international spymasters to travels around the world; from his observations on Kashmir-political and personal-post the abrogation of Article 370, to his encounters with world leaders, politicians and celebrities; moving from Bhopal to Nepal and from Kashmir to China, Dulat tells the story of his life with remarkable honesty, verve and wit.

रॉ, आईएसआई और शांति का भ्रम एक जासूसी वृत्तांत ए.एस.दुलत, असद दुर्रानी, आदित्य सिन्हा 2016 में ए.एस दुलत और दुर्रानी के बीच समान धरातल तराशने के लिए वार्ताओं की श्रंखला चली। इनमें से एक रॉ के पूर्व प्रमुख थे, जो भारत की बाह्य ख़ुफ़िया एजेंसी है और दूसरे थे इसके पाकिस्तान समकक्ष आईएसआई के प्रमुख। चूंकि ये दोनों अपने देश में मुलाकात नहीं कर सकते थे, इसीलिए पत्रकार आदित्य सिन्हा द्वारा निर्देशित यह बातचीत इस्तांबुल, बैंकॉक और काठमांडू जैसे शहरों में हुई। वार्ता के मुद्दों में दक्षिण एशिया को लंबे समय से झकझोरने वाले टकराव के बिंदु शामिल थे, जिसके कारण जान-माल का नुकसान होता रहा है। यह दो जासूस प्रमुखों के नज़रिये से देखे गए उपमहाद्वीप की राजनीति के गहरे अन्वेषण जैसा था। वार्ता में कश्मीर और शांति के गंवाए हुए मौके, हाफ़िज़ सईद और 26 /11, कुलभूषण जाधव, सर्जिकल स्ट्राइक, ओसामा बिन लादेन संबंधी सौदेबाज़ी, भारत पाकिस्तान के संबन्धों में अमेरिका और रूस का प्रभाव और कैसे आतंकवादी इन दो एशियाई देशों की वार्ता की कोशिशों को विफल कर देता है, जैसे विषय शामिल थे। जब यह बातचीत पहली बार आरंभ हुई, जनरल दुर्रानी ने हँसते हुए कहा कि कोई भी इस पर भरोसा नहीं करेगा, भले ही इसे फिक्शन क्यों न मान लिया जाए। बेचैनी से भरे रिश्तों के बीच दो जासूसी एजेंसियों के पूर्व प्रमुखों के बीच हुई बातचीत से - जो कि अपनी तरह का पहला प्रयास है - कुछ सवालों के जवाब मिल सकते हैं।

द स्पाय क्रॉनिकल्स. रॉ आयएसआय आणि शांततेचा आभास. अमरजितसिंह दुलत हे ‘रॉ’चे माजी प्रमुख आहेत, तर असद दुर्रानी ‘आयएसआय’चे माजी प्रमुख आहेत. 2016मध्ये दुलत आणि दुर्रानी यांच्यादरम्यान अनेकदा संवाद झाला. त्या दोघांमध्ये पत्रकार आदित्य सिन्हा यांच्या मध्यस्थीनं इस्तंबूल, बँकॉक आणि काठमांडू यांसारख्या शहरांमध्ये भारत-पाकिस्तान संबंधांचा ऊहापोह करणाऱ्या अनौपचारिक चर्चा झाल्या. या संवादामध्ये काश्मीर आणि शांततेची गमावलेली संधी; हाफीज सईद आणि 26/11, कुलभूषण जाधव; सर्जिकल स्ट्राइक; ओसामा बिन लादेनचा सौदा अशा अनेक संवेदनशील मुद्द्यांवर गंभीर तरीही मनमोकळी चर्चा करण्यात आली आहे. या पुस्तकामध्ये हेरगिरीच्या क्षेत्रातील या दोन्हीही दिग्गजांनी भारतीय उपखंडातल्या राजकारणाचा खोलवर वेध घेतलेला आहे.

"This book chronicles the life and times of Major General A.S. Naravane, both in peace and war. He joined the Indian Military Academy, Dehra Dun in 1936 and was commissioned in 1938. He was amongst the first few who were accepted for the Indian Artillery, which, till 1934 was offered exclusively by the British. His early days in the regiment were one of very hard work and training. The profession of arms was a very highly prized occupation and all was done to make the young officers worthy of being in it. The training methods then are described with much pride and nostalgia. Naravane went to war as a captain and his artillery regiment, the 2nd Field, soon saw action against the then invincible Germans under Rommel. At Bir Hachiem he was taken prisoner. The trials and tribulations as a prisoner are worth reading, especially for the young officer, as they show that whatever the conditions, the first duty of every prisoner of war is to try and escape. Liberty may be lost, but courage and pride in one's regiment, never. The transition from the British Indian Army to a national army is brought out frankly but with restraint. His career and rise to the post of Director of Artillery is, in a way, the conflict of the old and the new that every pre-war officer had to face"--Dust jacket.

This book, a second edition, includes new data from the 2010 Census of India and NSS reports on consumer expenditure (2011-12), health and education (2014) to examine poverty in China and India, and how it connects with minorities. Poverty has generally become less acute in both China and India, thanks to an impressively rapid growth especially between 2010 and 2015 when the rest of the world including the US and the EU slowed down following the economic recession of 2008. But the issues of income and non-income inequalities (especially malnutrition in India), marginalization and social exclusion remain as acute as ever in both countries. As well as the use of new primary material in every chapter, the book also critically examines new relevant studies and responds to global perspectives on minority issues. It canvasses a broad range of subjects from global terrorism and civil wars in Libya and Syria, to the Arab Spring and the emergence of Islamic fundamentalism and the Islamic State (ISIS).

The art of successful negotiations over protracted conflicts presupposes a political commitment to peace and a willingness to compromise, which are sorely lacking in the current disorderly world. Part of the blame for this lies in weak and ineffective national and global leadership. This book’s sharp focus on the role of leadership at different levels—national government, rebel and Western/regional government mediators—as well as that of the UN and non-governmental players in settling intra-state disputes, is a unique feature which sets it apart from others. Much of the existing literature does not adequately discuss the role of the above actors in developing countries. Asia’s Trouble Spots is a serious attempt to fill this gap. The seven country studies in Asia—Myanmar, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and China—discuss, inter alia, how peace negotiations between national political and rebel leaders have unfolded. The role of state-sponsored cross-border terrorists and non-state spoilers such as Al-Qaeda and ISIS is addressed in the context of geopolitical rivalry among regional and global powers. A. S. Bhalla challenges the view that Western leaders can act as impartial mediators in intra-state and inter-state disputes. With few exceptions, their record has been dismal at best. Their failure in conflict resolution arises from a loss of moral authority and credibility, which follows the gradual erosion over the years of such liberal values as the rule of law and respect for democracy and human rights. Commercial and strategic self-interests have also tended to undermine peacebuilding efforts.