At a literature festival held in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh, in October 2025, former Army chief General MM Naravane was reportedly asked about the fate of his long-awaited memoir. He was attending a session on his recently released fiction book, The Cantonment Conspiracy, when an audience member reportedly asked him about his memoir, Four Stars of Destiny. The General quipped, “I think it is maturing, like aged wine. The longer it’s there, it becomes more and more vintage; of greater value.” Touche! General.
The book, praised by former Generals, academicians and politicians who previewed it, is now at the centre of a controversy over how it appeared to have been released without being officially published. Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, brought a copy to Parliament “to gift it to Prime Minister Narendra Modi”. The PDF of the “pre-print” unapproved copy is circulating online. And amid this, the publishing house, Penguin Random House India, has said in a statement that Four Stars of Destiny never went to the press.
The statement from the publisher came after India Today Digital first asked how a hardbound copy of the manuscript that was yet to be approved by the Ministry of Defence reached Rahul Gandhi. You can read our detailed report on Gen Naravane’s memoir here.
Hours after the report was published on Monday (February 9), the Delhi Police registered an FIR over the online circulation of typeset manuscript of the memoir by former COAS General MM Naravane (Retd). Later on Monday night, Penguin Random House India said in a statement on X, “We wish to make it clear that the book has not gone into publication. No copies — in print or digital form — have been published, distributed, sold, or otherwise made available to the public by Penguin Random House India.”
On Tuesday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said he trusted Gen Naravane over the publisher, when asked to comment on the statement by Penguin Randomhouse.
We trust our eyes too, as we saw a copy of the book with Rahul Gandhi.
HOW GEN NARAVANE’S BOOK TRIGGERED A POLITICAL STORM
The issue snowballed into a political storm after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tried to quote from an article in a magazine that was based on Gen Naravane’s manuscripts. He was asked by BJP leaders in the Lok Sabha if he was quoting from a book that had been published. As if to answer that, Rahul Gandhi was seen holding a copy of the book in the Parliament complex last week.
The book reportedly contains details of the India-China face-off in 2020, as well as observations on the Agnipath recruitment scheme, both unfolding during General Naravane’s tenure as the Army chief.
So, if the book was never published, how did Rahul Gandhi come to possess a copy of it — especially in hardback form, complete with a dust jacket that bears the finish and production quality typical of major publishing houses?
Adding to the intrigue, screenshots showing the book listed for pre-order, along with claims of successful purchases, have begun circulating widely on social media.
A screenshot of General MM Naravane’s tweet from 2023, in which he announced that his book was available for pre-orders.
Many readers were able to successfully place pre-orders — not just online, but also at physical bookstores. However, all such pre-orders were cancelled following the controversy. A legacy bookstore’s staffer from New Delhi told India Today Digital that copies of Four Stars of Destiny had to be “returned to the publisher after a controversy erupted.”
The question here is, can a book be opened for pre-orders at such a scale without even a single copy having been printed? Logically, that appears unlikely. But there are no clear answers.
A person who had pre-ordered the book responded with a photograph in the comments on General Naravane’s announcement post.
Penguin Random House didn’t respond to India Today Digital’s email with specific queries on the book. Its officials declined to comment on the matter, with one staffer saying, “If it is about the Naravane book, I cannot give you any details.”
Another eager reader had pre-ordered the book online on Amazon
Regardless, the PDF version of the unreleased book is now in circulation on channels like WhatsApp and over e-mail, with the Delhi Police probing how it came to be shared so extensively.
The manuscript was still under consideration by the Defence Ministry when it entered the public domain — placing it, at the very least, in the category of sensitive material. Such a lapse is without precedent.
On Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi doubled down on his stand on Gen Naravane’s book when asked to comment on the publisher’s statement that copies hadn’t been printed.
“Either Mr Naravane is lying or it is Penguin, which is lying. I don’t think the former Army chief will lie,” he told reporters outside Parliament. “Here is a tweet from Mr Naravane [from 2023] which says, ‘just follow the link to my book.”
Rahul Gandhi and several people are attesting to the fact that the book exists, while the publisher claims it doesn’t. The mystery over General Naravane’s book has only deepened. Because it involves defence-related sensitive matters, it is a must that a thorough probe is conducted to reveal the source of the lapse.
– Ends
Published By:
Anand Singh
Published On:
Feb 10, 2026
