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Book Review: Para Commando by Deepak Surana
- Style Essentials Edit Team
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Military biographies often struggle with balance and lean too heavily into battlefield detail and the human being disappears and usually they focus only on heroism and the soldier turns into a symbol rather than a person. Para Commando, Deepak Surana’s account of Captain Arun Singh Jasrotia of 9 Para (Special Forces), avoids both traps by keeping its attention firmly on character, discipline, and the quiet choices that define leadership under pressure.
Set during counter-terrorism operations in Kashmir in the 1990s, the book traces Jasrotia’s journey from an unassuming childhood to one of the Indian Army’s most demanding units. Surana does not rush this progression. Selection, training, and mental conditioning are given the space they deserve, underscoring the reality that Special Forces capability is built long before an operation begins.
The central chapters focus on deployments in the Lolab Valley, where Jasrotia’s leadership would ultimately cost him his life. These sections are written with notable restraint. Rather than amplifying combat for effect, Surana concentrates on judgement under stress, situational awareness, and the weight of command when outcomes are uncertain. What emerges is not a portrait of bravado, but of responsibility—an officer who placed the safety of his men ahead of his own survival.
Jasrotia’s posthumous award of the Ashok Chakra is treated as fact, not spectacle. The citation does not function as a dramatic high point but as a formal recognition of conduct already established through the narrative. The ethos of the Parachute Regiment and its guiding principle of Balidan appear consistently, not as rhetoric, but as an accepted professional reality within the unit.
Surana’s experience as a military historian shows in his measured approach. Having written extensively on earlier conflicts and officers, he understands the importance of context without overwhelming the reader. Operational environments, command structures, and unit culture are explained clearly, allowing civilian readers access without diluting authenticity.
One of the book’s strongest qualities is its handling of loss. There is no attempt to dramatise grief or manufacture sentiment. Fellow soldiers, family, and institutional memory are woven in quietly, reinforcing the idea that service is collective even when sacrifice is individual. The effect is understated and far more powerful for it.
As a biography, Para Commando succeeds because it resists excess. It neither glorifies violence nor romanticises death. Instead, it documents the life of a professional soldier shaped by training, restraint, and loyalty to those beside him. The result is a record that feels credible, respectful, and enduring.
This book will appeal to readers interested in Indian military history, Special Forces operations, and leadership under extreme pressure. It is also a reminder that behind every gallantry award lies years of discipline and a series of decisions made far from public view.
Read more:
Title: Para Commando: The True Account of a Special Forces Operative
Author: Deepak Surana
Publisher: Srishti Publishers & Distributors
Available at: Amazon, Flipkart, and Srishti Publishers
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A very good book written by the author as mentioned everything with some names hidden