Captain Mani’s War is not merely a war memoir but a reclamation, lifting the fog of empire to reveal an observant, deeply human Indian voice at the frontlines that reflects the conscience of a passionate nationalist. The narrative restores to history what it too often erases: the presence and lived experience of Indian soldiers fighting with courage even as the idea of India was in formation. -- Ambassador Nirupama Rao, Indian Foreign Secretary (Retd.).

Captain Mani’s War is a clear-eyed Indian war correspondent’s account of the Indian Army’s battles against Japanese forces and, more briefly, revolutionary Southeast Asian forces, drawing on PRS Mani’s dispatches, diaries, and reminiscences. It vividly brings alive the heroism and endurance of fighting men and support staff alike, standing as a worthy addition to scholarship on Subcontinental soldiers and echoing the combat realism of John Keegan’s The Face of Battle in its portrayal of what drives soldiers in the most intense moments. -- Prof. Kanti Bajpai, Ashoka University.

India played a major role in determining the outcome of the Second World War, raising the largest volunteer army in history and fighting across multiple theatres, yet its decisive eastern campaigns—culminating in victories at Kohima and Imphal—remain underrepresented in historical narratives. This book, drawn from the firsthand writings of Capt PRS Mani, offers an extraordinary Indian perspective on these global events, documenting both the Burma Campaign and the post-war Dutch East Indies conflict, and stands as a significant contribution to Indian historiography of the war. -- Sqn Ldr Rana Chhina, MBE (Retd).