TNI Bureau: Penguin Random House India clarified that Four Stars of Destiny, the memoir of former Indian Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane, has not been published and that no copies—print or digital—have been distributed, sold, or made available to the public. The publisher said it holds the sole publishing rights to the book and warned that any circulation of the manuscript amounts to copyright infringement and will invite legal action.

The clarification came amid reports and online listings claiming the book was published in January 2024, which Penguin has denied.

In a statement posted on X, Penguin said the clarification was issued in view of recent public discourse and media reports. It added that any copies currently in circulation, in any format or on any platform, are unauthorised.

The controversy began on February 2, when Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi quoted from what he described as an unpublished book during the Motion of Thanks debate on the President’s Address in the Lok Sabha. His remarks, related to India-China border clashes, were strongly objected to by the ruling BJP, which termed them “unverified.”

Gandhi later repeated the claims by citing a magazine report that had allegedly accessed a pre-print copy of the memoir. He accused the government of misleading the public and said the book revealed serious lapses in India’s response to the 2020 standoff, including a lack of high-level intelligence and a defensive, rather than strategic, approach.

Rahul Gandhi also questioned Penguin’s clarification, referring to social media posts by General Naravane linking to the book and stating, “Either Mr Naravane is lying, or Penguin is lying. I do not think the former Army Chief would lie.” He said he believed Naravane over the publisher and claimed the book contained statements inconvenient for the government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Penguin India had earlier posted on X that the book was available for pre-order. If the book was not meant to be published, how did it come up for pre-order in the first place? Similarly, the book was also listed on Amazon, with the mention that it was published in January 2024. If it had not been published, how was it available there?

These developments have created a mystery and raised serious suspicion around the status of the book.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police have registered a case and launched an investigation into the alleged circulation of a pre-print copy of the book on social media.