Balidan: Stories of India's Greatest Para Special Forces Operatives by Swapnil Pandey

Balidan: Stories of India's Greatest Para Special Forces Operatives Reviews

• 
  Nidhi Srivastava

  'Balidan' is one of the first books written ever on the Indian Para Special Forces. I read a couple of books written by Swapnil Ma'am previously. I would thank her for bringing out stories of the National Heroes who wear maroon berets. Before reading this book, I knew about Brigadier Saurabh Singh Shekhawat and Captain Tushar Mahajan. With my recent inclination towards non-fiction books, my quest for learning about Indian Armed Forces never subsided. I got occupied with my corporate life. The book consists of 6 stories about the soldiers of the Para Special Forces. As a reader, I would say the book has a lot of offer if you are curious about the Para SF. In my opinion, soldiers can motivate you in life, irrespective of your work environment. The book has been written in simple language, drawing references from prestigious Defence Academies, commanding units, and encounters. I would quote from Chapter 1, "A commando's life dangles on a thin thread, where a split second can decide his fate forever."
  
  As a civilian, most of us turn patriotic only on two occasions, namely our Independence and Republic Day. However, the stories brought in this book states that there are different race who live by the motto 'शौर्यम..दक्षम..युध्धेय, बलिदान परम धर्मा.' The journey of every Para SF has been well-captured by the author. At every inconvenience at work, people curse their jobs till they leave the organization. But, the book preaches loud that an injured soldier would continue to bleed for the Indian Armed Forces till death and maybe beyond that. Reading this book taught me various things about life that my work wouldn't have taught me. An ustad's statement from chapter 2 says, "Your religion is your boys…. As an officer, you are everything, all of these religions." Indian Army has lots to offer to everyone reading about them.
  You will want to google Brigadier S.S. Shekhawat as you read the book. It would compel the readers to watch his interviews. "One must not lead one's life in fear of death." I read this book at a faster pace. I was curious about Major Manish Singh, Subedar Major/Honorary Captain Mahendra Singh, and the Band of Brothers. Every chapter where the soldiers didn't return safe, it was gut-wrenching.
  
  Everyone should pick up this book and read about - what it takes to wear a maroon beret, or be associated with a soldier who wears a 'Balidan' badge, and these soldiers who live in dark jungles to sanitize the surroundings for fellow Indians.
• 
  Vaibhav Manchanda

  Writing - 3/5
  Stories - 5/5
• 
  Etienne RP

  It is always a smart move to discover a country through its elites, and the Special Forces Units wearing the maroon beret and the Balidan badge certainly are the elite of the Indian army. So secretive are their missions that little is known about them beyond code names like Dagger, Ghost, Viper, or Desert Scorpio.
  
  In her book Balidan, Swapnil Pandey tells the story of India’s greatest Para Special Forces operatives through portraits of exceptional characters belonging to the 21 Para SF (also known as the Waghnakhs), the 9 Para SF (the Ghost Operators of the Valley, or the NINE), and the 4 Para SF (the Fourth of the North).
  
  She makes the claim that India’s special Forces are “the most elite of forces from around the world” (p.151). Considering the legends surrounding the Green Berets or the Navy SEALS in the United States or the 1er RPIMa and the 13ème RDP in France, claiming that Indian Special Forces are “the best in the world” (p.xviii) is a very strong and bold statement.
  
  It is backed by the following arguments:
  
  1/ Indian Special Forces are the most selective in the world. From a young age, boys dream of entering the National Defense Academy as a personal goal or to follow a family military tradition. The pool of candidates from which soldiers are chosen is arguably the largest in the world. Competition is fierce. To enter the coveted world of the marroon beret, the Balidan badge and the Special Forces operations, competition is even fiercer. It is said that the attrition rate to be admitted to the 9 Para (SF) is “close to 99.9 per cent” (p.152). Think about that.
  
  2/ Indian Special Forces go through one of the harshest training phase ever conceived. They are trained for reconnaissance, unconventional warfare, and special operations and acquire a set of advanced military skills such as sky-diving, weapons training, counter-insurgency, languages, and warfare in different terrains, among other things. In the world of special operations, it is said that high-altitude mountain warfare and amphibious operations are the most demanding. Indian paratroopers are trained for both of them. The Army Combat Underwater Diving Course at INS in Kochi is “one of the most challenging  courses in the world of the SF” (p.118). So is training at the High Altitude Warfare School in Gulmarg, Kashmir.
  
  3/ Indian Special Forces are “the most combat-rich and battle-hardened soldiers in the world” (p.45). Some of their feats of arms, such as the Kargil conflict in 1999 or the many China-India skirmishes along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), are public and are of the stuff from which legends are made. Other operations are covert and shrouded in secrecy. Special Forces are regularly deployed in Jammu and Kashmir to counter the infiltration of highly trained Pakistani terrorists. In Swapnil Pandey’s account, other commandos are sent in enemy’s territory in the border areas of Myanmar or In the jungles along the Line of Control (LoC) to carry out cross-border surgical strikes or reconnaissance operations. “Sometimes they would hide for days without any food or water, silently observing enemy movement” (p.8). Paras are trained well to hide and attack only when needed. “They are everywhere, but they are invisible” (p.91).
  
  4/ Indian Special Forces operatives are of the highest moral fiber. Balidan is a hagiography book, and the author goes the extra mile in emphasizing the exceptional character of the soldiers she portrays. But one cannot be but impressed by the chivalry of this band of brothers, the bravery of their deeds, and the gallantry of their awards and medals. For the author, “wars and the legends that emerge from them allow us to witness the pinnacle of human valour and spirit” (p.27). Warriors from the Special Forces acquire a godlike character, as the paratroopers she compares with “that original fearless free faller Lord Hanuman, who flew effortlessly, not with a parachute but with an entire mountain on his back” (p.36).
  
  For every great man, there is an even greater woman. The portraits of these exceptional soldiers are completed by vignettes showing the caring kindness of their partners, their wives, and alas, in some cases, their widows. “Someone once said that only a woman of steel can love a man in uniform” (p.160). In Balidan, Swapnil Pandey adds a feminine touch to her story of manly achievements.
• 
  Anuradha Verma

  
  
  Currently reading it and already rated it 5 star. Swapnil Pandey can get you hooked to her stories. The amount of reasearch she puts in is commendable and every work of hers is worth reading.
  
  I 100% recommend it to my fellow romance and fiction readers. Try it once and you'll fall in love with non-fiction too!!
  
  Swapnil Pandey
• 
  Ajay Sant

  Men apart every man an emperor.
  
  Perhaps this single line by field marshal Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery best describes the special forces, which are the most elite and best soldiers of the Indian Army. These men undergo the harshest training there is in the world for soldiers.
  
  Having read the fantastic book “The force behind the forces” I was looking forward to reading this book by the author. I would be losing if I were to say that the book lives upto the expectations.
  
  The book narrates the stories of the brave Indian special forces operatives. Some of the heroes from these stories are well known in the popular media (YouTube, Instagram ) like Brigadier Saurabh Singh Shekhawat while the others live a quiete life away from all the limelight.
  
  The stories in themselves are thrilling and make you go in awe about these men in maroon. However the way the book is written, seems to have been rushed through and is not refined. So my recommendation would be to read the book for these men and not the text/written.
• 
  Rohit Kumar

  Always thankful for these writers. Who does this work and brings these stories to us. However it's kind of painful when they make mistakes where it's disrespectful for the fallen hero. In the story of Tushar Mahajan she mentioned, how he was a great undercover operative because he inherited fair color from his ancestors in Pakistan. That's just atrocious. Pakistan wasn't Pakistan when his grandparents had to run from there to save their life. There was no Pakistan from where he could inherit anything. He died for this country. And we are calling his ancestors Pakistani???
• 
  Omkar Singh

  I guess the essence of this amazing book can be summarised by the following lines....
  
  "To every man upon this earth
  Death cometh soon or late.
  And how can man die better
  Than facing fearful odds,
  For the ashes of his fathers,
  And the temples of his gods."
  
  Everyone should give this book a read to know about the people who protects us against all odds.
  This book also reminds us that FREEDOM is not FREE. Few of us pay the COST of WAR...
• 
  Bonnie

  Must read!!!!
  "Duty demands blood and sacrifice. Perhaps this is why the Balidan badge is worn by a select few who are fearless in heart, mind body and soul."
  
  Salute to every nameless, faceless;real life heroes, who silently give their all for the nation.
  Huge reminder that Freedom is not free of cost
• 
  Maggie

  Amazing stories
  Not a good writer though
• 
  Ajitabh Pandey

  A selected collection of real life events from the lives of Para Special Forces. The author has collected these on the basis of various interviews conducted over a long time period.
• 
  Molik Sharma

  Finally there is a book out here for readers which adequately covers our Special Forces.
  The book presents to us civilians with 6 stories of our brave SF heroes. The book covers a balanced operational-emotional-social perspective to give the readers a holistic view of life of an SF operative.
  I'm sure you can't finish this book without shedding tears at least once. The book at last makes the readers much humble for our forces.
  Salute to the men in uniform and to their families for sacrificing everything whenever required.
• 
  navneet

  I discovered my heroes and their brave families...
  
  This book helped me discover the heroes I have craved for...
  
  Thanks to this book, I will carry the memories of the bravehearts, who fought and died for me without knowing me, forever in my heart.
  
  I hope to meet them for an autograph or touch the feet of their mothers...