‘Naam, Namak, Nishan’: Quiz book on Indian Armed Forces to release on Monday

PTI, May 28, 2023, 3:31 PM IST

A new quiz book, ”Naam, Namak, Nishan”, piques curiosity of history buffs and military personnel alike as it explores the fascinating world of the Indian Armed Forces — one question at a time.

Written by Group Captain Anurakshat Gupta and his team of ardent quizzer-doctors from the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) Pune, the book takes readers on a journey across 250 questions as it explores trivia that connects the Indian Armed Forces to topics ranging from mythology, history and art to geography, fashion and sport.

The quiz book, scheduled to hit the stands on Monday, is published by Penguin Random House India (PRHI).

”The armed forces in India are shrouded in a veil for all those who have never served in it. The mystery surrounding the forces is compounded by the often inaccurate portrayal in media and the dense academic tone of the books that deal with them. The book is an attempt to address these extremes,” read the book’s introduction.

How was it decided which villages were to pass off to the English? What was the Special Forces division of the Azad Hind Fauj known as? Which ‘gold-strung’ operation was launched by the Indian Army in 2019? are among the questions that the book asks, and subsequently answers.

”Do you know why the Indian Navy counts ‘One, Two, Six’ instead of ‘One, Two, Three’ while doing group tasks? 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,” said the publisher in a statement.

The book, priced at Rs 250, is divided into four sections: ”The Colonial Era”, ”India at the World Wars and in the Years Between”, ”Wars of Independent India” and ”The Operations, Warriors, Traditions, and Colours of the Men in Uniform”.