Phantoms of Chittagong

Phantoms of Chittagong PDF

Author: Sujan Singh Uban

Publisher:

Published: 1985

Total Pages: 184

ISBN-13:

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"BEST OF 2011. Innovative ... intensely memorable ... drama and intelligence ... fascinating ... a gripping read." - Perry Crowe, Kirkus Reviews "I'm fascinated by the world building in Clark Carlton's Prophets of the Ghost Ants." - Annalee Newitz, i09.com "One of the most engrossing, original and powerful novels I have read in years. A monumental cross-genre book, an allegory like Animal Farm as well as a thrilling adventure into a whole new world. Exciting, visionary, a tour de force." - Lawrence Bender, Oscar winning producer of Inglorious Basterds, Pulp Fiction, Good Will Hunting, An Inconvenient Truth "An engaging piece of fiction built upon an imaginative idea. Even though everything takes place on a very small scale, the scope of the conflict remains epic and the nature of the conflict remains quintessentially human. The book has so much packed into it - from an exploration of class divisions, to the religious hypocrisy of the ruling and priestly classes, to the causes of religiously driven wars, to a coming-of-age story for Anand - that any reader will almost certainly find multiple levels of material in it to interest them." - Aaron Pounds, Dreaming of Other Worlds "An incredibly compelling novel ... highly original ... I am eager to see where the author goes with this series, a rewarding novel that is as remarkable for it's intensity as it's easy grace." - Antony Jones, SF Book Review Prophets of the Ghost Ants is in development as a film trilogy with Lawrence Bender Productions. The setting is Earth of the far-flung future, when all traces of our civilization have long vanished. The catastrophes of distant ages -- natural and man-made -- have passed into legend and mysticism. And yet ... the world is no utopia. Technology is unknown. The animal kingdom as we know it is extinct. Birds, reptiles, mammals -- all lost to endless, unforgiving cycles of planetary death and rebirth. Humankind has clung stubbornly to existence -- thanks to a perverse turn of Evolution. For as the weary planet became inexorably depleted, our species adapted by growing smaller with every passing eon, until at last we stood in parity with the only other "higher" species to survive -- insects. And just as our current society has domesticated animals to sustain ourselves, the human societies of this future have yoked insects to their service. Food, weapons, clothing, art -- even the most sacred religious beliefs -- are derived from Humankind's profound intertwining with the once-lowly insect world. In this savage landscape, men cannot hope to dominate. Ceaselessly and viciously, humans are stalked by Night Wasps, Lair Spiders, and Grass Roaches. And men are still men. Corrupt elites ruthlessly enforce a rigid caste system over a debased and ignorant populace. Duplicitous clergymen and power-mongering Royalty wage pointless wars for their own glory. Fantasies of a better life, a better world, serve only to torment those who dare to dream. One so cursed is a half-breed slave named Anand, a dung-collector of the midden caste who, against all possibility, rises above hopelessness to lead his people against a genocidal army of men who fight atop fearsome, translucent Ghost Ants. And to his horror, Anand finds that this merciless enemy is led by someone from his own family ... a religious zealot bent on the conversion of all non-believers ... or their extermination. For more info and concept art visit our web site: http://www.prophetsoftheghostants.com

Phantoms of Chittagong—The “Fifth Army” in Bangladesh

Phantoms of Chittagong—The “Fifth Army” in Bangladesh PDF

Author: Maj Gen S.S. Uban (Retd.)

Publisher: Allied Publishers

Published: 2024-07-03

Total Pages: 172

ISBN-13: 9389934974

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This book brings out for the first time little known facts about the Indo-Pak War of 1971 which resulted in the birth of a new nation. The author was the hero of a thrilling drama enacted by an unbelievable small number of guerillas achieving disproportionately large successes, under some of the most difficult circumstances, thus blazing a new trail in the glorious tradition and history of the Indian Army. Mrs. Gandhi congratulated the author with the words “You were the backbone of all our success in Bangladesh.” The late Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal wrote in letter of congratulations to the author: “Though a detailed account of your activities may never be published, I know your force played a major part in bringing about a quick victory in the East.” Sheikh Mujeebur Rehman requested the Government of India to send Major General Uban as his Personal Advisor. How did it all happen? How did the newly raised Special Frontier Force which was totally ill-equipped for modern warfare and unsupported by air, artillery or mortars, achieve what it did and win the highest admiration from Field Marshal Manekshaw who treated this small force as his “Fifth Army”? How did this guerilla force react to the news of the Seventh American Fleet rushing to the rescue of Pakistani forces? The petty rivalry within the Army, the wrangling amongst leaders of the Bangladesh Government in exile and the refreshing efforts of the author for peace resulting in Sheikh Mujeeb and Mr. Bhutto—the arch enemies—embracing each other on a public platform in Lahore, come out as exciting moments in this narration. Army Commanders most of whom were quite unaware of the existence of his Force, which was playing such a vital role to hasten their success, would be delighted to study the tactics of this unconventional “Army” and draw some useful lessons for the future.

India and Her Neighbourhood

India and Her Neighbourhood PDF

Author: Claude Arpi

Publisher: Har-Anand Publications

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 372

ISBN-13: 9788124110973

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Articles predominantly on political conditions of Tibet, China and Sino-Indian relations.

India's Near East

India's Near East PDF

Author: Avinash Paliwal

Publisher: Penguin Random House India Private Limited

Published: 2024-07-31

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 9357089500

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Celebrated as a theatre of geo-economic connectivity typified by the ‘Act East’ policy, India’s near east is key not only to its great-power rivalry with China, which first boiled over in the 1962 war, but to the idea(s) of India itself. It is also one of the most intricately partitioned lands anywhere on Earth. Rent by communal and class violence, the region has birthed extreme forms of religious and ethnic nationalisms and communist movements. The Indian state’s survival instinct and pursuit of regional hegemony have only accentuated such extremes. This book scripts a new history of India’s eastward-looking diplomacy and statecraft. Narrated against the backdrop of separatist resistance within India’s own northeastern states, as well as rivalry with Beijing and Islamabad in Myanmar and Bangladesh, it offers a simple but compelling argument. The aspirations of ‘Act East’ mask an uncomfortable truth: India privileges political stability over economic opportunity in this region. In his chronicle of a state’s struggle to overcome war, displacement and interventionism, Avinash Paliwal lays bare the limits of independent India’s influence in its near east.

Pakistan's Wars

Pakistan's Wars PDF

Author: Tariq Rahman

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2022-06-09

Total Pages: 375

ISBN-13: 1000594408

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This book studies the wars Pakistan has fought over the years with India as well as other non-state actors. Focusing on the first Kashmir war (1947–48), the wars of 1965 and 1971, and the 1999 Kargil war, it analyses the elite decision-making, which leads to these conflicts and tries to understand how Pakistan got involved in the first place. The author applies the ‘gambling model’ to provide insights into the dysfunctional world view, risk-taking behaviour, and other behavioural patterns of the decision makers, which precipitate these wars and highlight their effects on India–Pakistan relations for the future. The book also brings to the fore the experience of widows, children, common soldiers, displaced civilians, and villagers living near borders, in the form of interviews, to understand the subaltern perspective. A nuanced and accessible military history of Pakistan, this book will be indispensable to scholars and researchers of military history, defence and strategic studies, international relations, political studies, war and conflict studies, and South Asian studies.

Phantoms in the Brain

Phantoms in the Brain PDF

Author: V. S. Ramachandran

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 1999-08-18

Total Pages: 353

ISBN-13: 0688172172

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Neuroscientist V.S. Ramachandran is internationally renowned for uncovering answers to the deep and quirky questions of human nature that few scientists have dared to address. His bold insights about the brain are matched only by the stunning simplicity of his experiments -- using such low-tech tools as cotton swabs, glasses of water and dime-store mirrors. In Phantoms in the Brain, Dr. Ramachandran recounts how his work with patients who have bizarre neurological disorders has shed new light on the deep architecture of the brain, and what these findings tell us about who we are, how we construct our body image, why we laugh or become depressed, why we may believe in God, how we make decisions, deceive ourselves and dream, perhaps even why we're so clever at philosophy, music and art. Some of his most notable cases: A woman paralyzed on the left side of her body who believes she is lifting a tray of drinks with both hands offers a unique opportunity to test Freud's theory of denial. A man who insists he is talking with God challenges us to ask: Could we be "wired" for religious experience? A woman who hallucinates cartoon characters illustrates how, in a sense, we are all hallucinating, all the time. Dr. Ramachandran's inspired medical detective work pushes the boundaries of medicine's last great frontier -- the human mind -- yielding new and provocative insights into the "big questions" about consciousness and the self.

Nuclear Bomb In Ganga

Nuclear Bomb In Ganga PDF

Author: RK Yadav

Publisher: Prabhat Prakashan

Published: 2023-01-10

Total Pages: 214

ISBN-13: 9355214723

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The name of this book, ‘Nuclear Bomb in Ganga’ sounds fearsome. But, it is a hard fact which has to be brought in black and white for the safety of millions of Indians who consider the river ‘Sacred Ganga’ or ‘the Ganges’ as their mother. After China detonated its first nuclear test on May, 1964 at Lop Nor, the USA was keen to keep track of further nuclear designs of Communist China in this region. The CIA teamed up with the Indian Intelligence Bureau (IB) to install a Nuclear Device on Nanda Devi Mountain to monitor further detonations by China in Lop Nor, across the Himalayas. Inclement weather during the installation mission forced the team involved in the expedition to hide the nuclear-powered device in a ledge around 2000 feet below the installation point of the Nanda Devi Mountain. When the recovery team of Indian climbers was sent in October 1966 to retrieve the equipment, they found it missing in the glaciers due to avalanches. The CIA and Indian Intelligence maintained an eerie silence about the missing device until it was exposed by an American magazine on 12 April 1978. The then Prime Minister of India, Morarji Desai, briefed the Parliament on 17 April 1978, about the missing device and appointed a committee of scientists to investigate this issue.

India’s Intelligence Culture and Strategic Surprises

India’s Intelligence Culture and Strategic Surprises PDF

Author: Dheeraj Paramesha Chaya

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2022-09-29

Total Pages: 275

ISBN-13: 1000728668

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This book examines India’s foreign intelligence culture and strategic surprises in the 20th century. The work looks at whether there is a distinct way in which India ‘thinks about’ and ‘does’ intelligence, and, by extension, whether this affects the prospects of it being surprised. Drawing on a combination of archival data, secondary source information and interviews with members of the Indian security and intelligence community, the book provides a comprehensive analysis of the evolution of Indian intelligence culture from the ancient period to colonial times and, subsequently, the post-colonial era. This evolutionary culture has played a significant role in explaining the India’s foreign intelligence failure during the occurrences of strategic surprises, such as the 1962 Sino-Indian War and the 1999 Kargil War, while it successfully prepared for surprise attacks like Operation Chenghiz Khan by Pakistan in 1971. The result is that the book argues that the strategic culture of a nation and its interplay with intelligence organisations and operations is important to understanding the conditions for intelligence failures and strategic surprises. This book will be of much interest to students of intelligence studies, strategic studies, Asian politics and International Relations.

Beyond Shangri-La

Beyond Shangri-La PDF

Author: John Kenneth Knaus

Publisher: Duke University Press

Published: 2012-11-19

Total Pages: 375

ISBN-13: 0822352346

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Beyond Shangri-La chronicles relations between the Tibetans and the United States since 1908, when a Dalai Lama first met with U.S. representatives. What was initially a distant alliance became more intimate and entangled in the late 1950s, when the Tibetan people launched an armed resistance movement against the Chinese occupiers. The Tibetans fought to oust the Chinese and to maintain the presence of the current Dalai Lama and his direction of their country. In 1958, John Kenneth Knaus volunteered to serve in a major CIA program to support the Tibetans. For the next seven years, as an operations officer working from India, from Colorado, and from Washington, D.C., he cooperated with the Tibetan rebels as they utilized American assistance to contest Chinese domination and to attain international recognition as an independent entity. Since the late 1950s, the rugged resolve of the Dalai Lama and his people and the growing respect for their efforts to free their homeland from Chinese occupation have made Tibet's political and cultural status a pressing issue in international affairs. So has the realization by nations, including the United States, that their geopolitical interests would best be served by the defeat of the Chinese and the achievement of Tibetan self-determination. Beyond Shangri-La provides unique insight into the efforts of the U.S. government and committed U.S. citizens to support a free Tibet.

Naam, Namak, Nishaan

Naam, Namak, Nishaan PDF

Author: Anurakshat Gupta

Publisher: Penguin Random House India Private Limited

Published: 2023-05-29

Total Pages: 165

ISBN-13: 9357080783

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Do you know why the Indian Navy counts 'One, Two, Six' instead of 'One, Two, Three' while doing group tasks? Or that the Intelligence Bureau was set up in response to an assassination? Or that a Frenchman who had served three nations before turning thirty eventually rose to become the most powerful general of the Marathas? Or that an army man gave his name to the highest mountain without ever having set foot on it? Find out the answers to these and more as a team of quizzer-doctors from the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) Pune takes you on a journey across 250 questions, exploring trivia that connects the Indian Armed Forces to topics ranging from mythology, history and art to geography, fashion and sport. This and more in a quiz book that will help you see the Indian Armed Forces through a lens you might never have seen before. Happy exploring!