New Delhi: Penguin Random House India (PRHI) on Monday, February 9, issued a clarification amid growing controversy over Four Stars of Destiny, a memoir by former Indian Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane, asserting that the book has not yet been published and that any copies in circulation are unauthorised.
In an official statement, the publisher said it holds the sole publishing rights for the memoir and categorically denied that the book has gone into publication in any form. “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,” the statement said.
PRHI warned that any circulation of the book, whether in full or in part, amounts to copyright infringement. “Any copies of the book currently in circulation, whether print, digital, PDF, or any other format, online or offline, constitute an infringement of PRHI’s copyright and must immediately be ceased,” the publisher said, adding that it would pursue remedies available under law against illegal and unauthorised dissemination.
Major Political Row During Budget Session In Parliament
The clarification comes after a political controversy erupted over the unpublished memoir during the ongoing Budget Session of Parliament. Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, during his speech on the motion of thanks to the President’s Address last week, sought to quote from what he described as a pre-print of Naravane’s book. The excerpt reportedly related to the 2017 Doklam military stand-off between India and China.
However, Gandhi was unable to read out the passage due to repeated interruptions from Union ministers, including Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The treasury benches strongly objected to his remarks, triggering disruptions and multiple adjournments of the House. The motion of thanks was eventually adopted by voice vote amid sloganeering by opposition members.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Police have initiated legal action over the alleged circulation of the unpublished book. According to ANI, the Special Cell has registered an FIR after taking cognisance of information circulating on social media platforms and news forums claiming that a pre-print copy of Four Stars of Destiny was available online.
Police officials said the case pertains to the purported leak or breach of a yet-to-be-approved publication. An investigation has been launched to ascertain the source of the alleged leak and to determine how the material came into the public domain.
Penguin Random House India said the statement was issued to place its position on record, reiterating that the book remains unpublished and that any unauthorised sharing violates copyright law.
