Praise for the Book
Everymans War sensitizes us to the importance of national security and its various facets. It lends a balanced and definite view of Indias inclination towards reacting soft to aggression and war. Raman sets the standards high with his riveting essays. A book that challenges a readers thought-process about war, its causes, and its consequences.
N.R. Narayana Murthy
Executive Chairman
Infosys
Raghu Ramans book Everymans War lucidly captures the underlying issues that impact internal security and reflects his deep domain knowledge and expertise that spans across decades spent in the India Defence Services, Corporate India, and as a senior officer in the Government. His knowledge and experience equips him to take the reader right up close to short term threats and issues, and then pulls back for a long term perspective on the root causes of possible instability in the country. His ability to identify the diverse threats that we face as a nation and draw parallels from global strategies makes for compelling reading both for the chance reader and those who have been long steeped in the system. The rules of the game of internal security are continuously changing and our response must build on what history teaches us. We must also take into account the complexity of our vast geography, economic disparity, aspirations of an emerging young demography and the swift technological changes that impact each of these vectors. Raghu doesnt just identify factors that contribute to insurgency and its growth but also suggests proportionate and appropriate ways and means of addressing them. This book is compulsory reading for all those who are concerned in one way or other with Indias internal security issues, as it will lead to more informed debate and decision-making on one of the most serious threats facing the country today.
T.K.A Nair
Advisor to Prime Minister and former
Principal Secretary to Prime Minister
Raghu Raman has done pioneering work on thinking about a security framework. This volume provides a great distillation of his thoughts. You may not agree with everything, but his reflections will incite, provoke, and deepen the debate over the relationship between security and democracy.
Pratap Bhanu Mehta
President and Chief Executive
Centre for Policy Research
I have avidly read Raghus articles when they appeared in Mint and they were intellectually stimulating and provided a wealth of information and gave a new perspective of looking at issues. The article on Somalia and the facts of violence in USA and UK were eye-openers. I missed some of the articles and am therefore very happy that he has put them all together in a book. Easy to read and extremely illuminating, Raghu is one of the most widely read and astute commentators on internal security in India today.
It gives me great pleasure to strongly recommend this book to practitioners, academics, and the layman who will all come away greatly enriched. I am glad to have had once again the opportunity to go through this wonderful collection of articles and realize how good they read even years after they were written.
Gopal K Pillai IAS (Retd)
Former Union Home Secretary
Government of India
Over 25 years, Raghu Raman has zoomed in and then zoomed out, first to get a deeply personal understanding of terrorism and wars, and their impact on societies, and then to take that depth of knowledge to provide an intensely intelligent and cogent analysis of what national security, in all its ramifications, truly means to a country and its citizens. Raghus true skill lies in taking a topic, which is often dealt with in the rarified world of think-tank experts encircled by jargon and hyperbole, or hyped incessantly on Indias shrill television talk shows by politicians of all hues, and making it not just accessible but relevant to Indias myriad people and their everyday lives. In three years of lucid writing for Mint , Raghu Raman has made a powerful case for a rethinking of Indias response to internal and external threats. This compilation is essential reading to a full understanding of Indias modern-day psyche, with all its strengths and flaws.
Raju Narisetti
Founding Editor, Mint
Senior Vice President,
Deputy Head of Global Strategy, News Corp
Everymans War is an impressive compilation of short essays that highlights and brings to focus some of the most important national security issues, that have far reaching ramifications. These have for, far too long remained confined to the rarefied environs of arm-chair strategists and think tanks. Security of our country is a national endeavor and not merely the responsibility of the Armed Forces. The need of the hour is to bring in awareness and sensitize our citizens of national security issues so that these can be more meaningfully debated and understood. Raghus book lucidly and vividly brings these issues to the fore to allbe it decision makers in the government, business, strategists, students, or the citizens. Raghu seamlessly straddles a vast canvas of security geopolitics, economics and psychology, with ease. Whats more, he brings in the role of Armed Forces in the defence of the country to every-ones door step. An excellent book for those who wish to understand strategy, conflict, and terrorism that shapes our everyday lives.
Lt Gen. K. Surendra Nath
PVSM, AVSM, VSM
Army Commander, Army Training Command
This deftly written, highly readable book of short essays has an important message: security is full of moral ambiguity and beware of the person who claims moral clarity. This is not a popular idea with hawks or those who see the world in black and white, but it is consistent with the plural, soft power of Indiaa country that has always been a weak state and a strong society, and whose rise is not a threat to the world, unlike China.
Gurcharan Das
Author, Commentator, Public Intellectual
Raghu Raman has produced a very good book from his lucid articles in Mint on a subject that cannot be ignored by any citizen of India. In one of his articles points to the continuing deterioration in the countrys institutions and of citizens respect for them. Raghu says the Armed Forces is the one institution all citizens respect most of all. Since he wrote those lines, leaders of the Armed Forces have been embroiled in several controversies, causing citizens to become dismayed even about the Armed Forces. He talks of the need to rebuild trust in institutions, and the need for institutionalized capabilities for collaboration amongst existing institutions. Having pointed to a widespread institutional problem in India today Raghu then focusses on agendas for reforms related to internal security. His book is a valuable compilation of ideas for solutions to the organizational crisis that is undermining the States ability to provide security to its citizens, which citizens must become engaged with.
Arun Maira
Member, Planning Commission of India and former
Chairman, Boston Consulting Group, India
In this series of articles, Raghu Raman displays a deep knowledge and insight into the many complex factors that impact security issues in India. I have been an avid reader of his articles over the years and have always been impressed with his deep understanding of the complex socio-economic and geopolitical realities that are so important for appreciating this extremely nuanced subject. He has raised some red flags about the very real and interconnected challenges the country faces.
It behooves us to heed his warning call, as well as pay attention to the rather radical solutions he proposes, to keep India secure, to continue our growth trajectory and to safeguard our way of life for future generations.
Anand Mahindra
Chairman
