4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Feb 11, 2026 02:20 AM IST
Breaking his silence on the row over his unpublished memoir ‘Four Stars of Destiny’, former Army chief General M M Naravane (retired) Tuesday shared a post by publishing house Penguin Random House India in which it said “no copies of the book – in print or digital form – have been published, distributed, sold or otherwise made available to the public”.
Sharing the publisher’s statement, General Naravane said: “This is the status of the book.”
His post came hours after Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who last week attempted to read what he said were contents from the memoir in Parliament and later waved a purported copy of the book, told reporters: “Here is a tweet (post on X) from Mr Naravane ji. It’s a tweet that says: ‘Hello friends. My book is available now. Just follow the link. Happy reading. Jai Hind!’ This is a tweet that Mr Naravane has made. You can look into the tweet.”
“So, the point I am making is that either Mr Naravane is lying… and I believe the Army chief, okay? I don’t think he will lie… or Penguin is lying. Somebody needs to clarify… both cannot be telling the truth,” he said.
“Penguin is saying something. They are saying the book is not being published, right? The book is available on Amazon. General Naravane has tweeted, as I just read to you, that please buy my book. And I think he tweeted that in 2023,” he said.
“So, Naravane ji, who is the Army chief, whom I believe over Penguin… Do you believe Penguin over Naravane ji? So, I believe Mr Naravane. He is the Army chief. He has made certain statements in the book that are inconvenient for the Government of India. It’s inconvenient for the Prime Minister of India. And obviously, you have to decide whether Penguin is telling the truth or the Army Chief is telling the truth. That’s the simple issue,” he said.
In its statement Monday, Penguin Random House India said, “In light of recent public discourse and media reporting, Penguin Random House India would like to clarify that we hold the sole publishing rights for the book Four Stars of Destiny, a memoir by General Manoj Mukund Naravane, former Chief of the Indian Army.”
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“We wish to make it clear that the book has not gone into publication. No copies of the book – in print or digital form – have been published, distributed, sold, or otherwise made available to the public by Penguin Random House India,” it said.
“Any copies of the book currently in circulation, in whole or in part, whether in print, digital, PDF, or any other format, online or offline, on any platform, constitutes an infringement of PRHI’s copyright and must immediately be ceased,” it said, adding that it “shall be exercising remedies available in law against the illegal and unauthorised dissemination of the book”.
In another statement Tuesday, the publisher said “an announced book, a book available for pre-order, and a published book are not the same thing… a book is published only when it is available at retail channels for purchase”.
Ever since Gandhi first attempted to read in Parliament what he said were contents from the book, the government has maintained that General Naravane’s memoir is unpublished and cannot be quoted in the House. Eight Opposition MPs, including seven from Congress, were suspended last week following a ruckus in Lok Sabha.
