Dehradun, June 29 -- Book Review

Life is full of mysteries, but your identity should not be one of them.

This quote from the Nigerian author Samuel Awolumate provides the context to the title of the book - Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Memoirs of Indian Army's First Ethnic Gorkha Lieutenant General. 'As the land of my forefathers, writes Gen Shakti Gurung, Nepal will always hold a special place for me, but it is India where I was born, and where I have served, that I have laid down my heart.'

Let's face it. The overselling impression amongst those who wrote and commented on military matters was that 'Gurkha soldiers were fine and fearless troops with fierce loyalties to their Commanding officers'. But imagining them as officers - taking ...