Balidan

The Indian Para Special Forces carry out some of the army's most dangerous work, yet the public knows almost nothing about them. Their missions take them to treacherous heights and into the hidden strongholds of terrorism, and they are so closely guarded that the men are usually remembered only by code names such as Dagger, Ghost, Viper or Desert Scorpio. Those who earn the Balidan badge join a tradition surrounded by secrecy and legend. In Balidan, Swapnil Pandey sets out to bring some of these soldiers out of anonymity. The book gathers accounts of extraordinary bravery and introduces Colonel Santosh Mahadik, Captain Tushar Mahajan, Brigadier Saurabh Singh Shekhawat, Subedar Major Mahendra Singh and other officers whose service has rarely been told in full. The stories rest on research done over a year, including more than two hundred interviews with the friends and families of these men and several visits to Special Forces units near the LoC and the LAC. The result is a first attempt to give these soldiers a place in the public record, told through the people who knew them.