Internal Armed Conflict in India: Forging a Joint Civil–Military Approach, by Rostum K. Nanavatty, New Delhi: Pentagon Press, 2013, pp. 246, INR 595

Though the Indian Army has been committed to counterinsurgency operations for the past 60 years, Indian policymakers are yet to formulate a joint civil–military doctrine for resolution of internal armed conflicts. The lack of the same is evident from the internal security situation obtaining in the country. Rostum Nanavatty’s Internal Armed Conflict in India: Forging a Joint Civil–Military Approach is based on his vast experience as a young regimental officer to an Army Commander, varying from the North-eastern region—Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and south Assam—to Sri Lanka, and Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). Nanavatty has correlated the views of experts and suggested ways in which the fundamental principles of counterinsurgency operations can be applied in the peculiar Indian context to create conditions necessary for the success of a campaign. The book is India-centric, based on the premise that internal armed conflict in India, irrespective of its causes or its goals, will persist and that the military will continue to play a significant role in its management and resolution.